tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81966303917943414782024-03-14T01:18:18.306-05:00Homeward BoundChristian reflections on the journey from this earth to the next.ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.comBlogger778125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-3939888668554689912024-03-13T06:20:00.000-05:002024-03-13T06:20:48.987-05:00Anything<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22ELm_L9MxKENtP6WQ5zrb7QIhblZCfnEkPoXdzIJ1grUOtYsFI-uVLFuPCSHeYtj4_MOjKFs2bLd_30zpMjmJOG9bZZ42XpODYHbZdMLuGYzpNiD4rpAVk2IAePn0lq99eVLbTTOBimqmvPBrfmEpdduo-aueIbEvJUPxglR2LjlElyYJbt7Qentic0/s5991/flood%20unsplash.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="flooded houses and car" border="0" data-original-height="3202" data-original-width="5991" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22ELm_L9MxKENtP6WQ5zrb7QIhblZCfnEkPoXdzIJ1grUOtYsFI-uVLFuPCSHeYtj4_MOjKFs2bLd_30zpMjmJOG9bZZ42XpODYHbZdMLuGYzpNiD4rpAVk2IAePn0lq99eVLbTTOBimqmvPBrfmEpdduo-aueIbEvJUPxglR2LjlElyYJbt7Qentic0/w640-h342/flood%20unsplash.jpg" title="flood" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">In June 2001, Tropical Storm Allison dumped 20-40 inches of rain on the Houston area in just a few days. Thousands of houses were flooded, including the homes of some of the couples in our “newlyweds” Sunday school class. Our class of mostly 20-somethings descended on those houses hauling out furniture, ripping out carpet, and tearing out drywall.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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Many hands make for lighter work, but it was still hard work. A couple of the men in particular had some impressive blisters after tackling a particularly stubborn demolition. At the end of the workday, the lady of one of those houses, saying thanks to everyone who helped, noted, “I’ve always been good for writing a check, but these guys have given up <i>skin</i>.” <br />
<br />
There are definitely different levels of commitment. <br />
<br />
In Philippians, Paul is writing to his dear friends who have supported him in his ministry time and again. They funded his work in Macedonia and Thessalonica and have sent him material aid in his prison stay. For that, he calls them partners in the gospel. <br />
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He also wants them to know that his prison stay “has actually served to advance the gospel” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=phil+1.12-18&version=NIV" target="_blank">1:12</a>). <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=phil+1.12-18&version=NIV" target="_blank">1:13-14</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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Sure, some are preaching Christ just to make trouble for Paul. “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=phil+1.12-18&version=NIV" target="_blank">1:18</a>). <br />
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Why does Paul rejoice? Because the gospel is being preached. Whether the motives are bad or pure, the gospel is going out, so Paul, sitting in chains, rejoices. He’s willing to suffer anything for the gospel. <br />
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The day may soon come when we have to decide just how committed we are to the gospel. We’re good for writing checks. And the Lord’s work needs checks! I hope you do support the ministers of the gospel at home and abroad. If you don’t know of any missionaries you can support individually, your church is certainly connected to some kind of missionary organization that you can contribute to. <br />
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But some of Paul’s contemporaries went beyond financial help. They were out preaching the gospel. They became confident because of Paul’s chains. Why? “If Paul can suffer prison for the gospel, I can take some risks, too.” <br />
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Because Paul was in prison. Prison prison. Not air-conditioned, three squares and a cot prison. He was in sleeping-in-chains only eating what his friends brought him prison. And he rejoiced. <br />
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As our “<a href="https://www.firstthings.com/article/2022/02/the-three-worlds-of-evangelicalism" target="_blank">negative culture</a>” turns against Christianity, preaching the gospel will become both harder and more important. What are we going to be willing to do for the gospel? Because it’s not about “the gospel” at all. It’s about <a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2022/08/theres-reason-we-call-them-lost.html" target="_blank">the lost</a>. <br />
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Am I willing to make myself a little uncomfortable so the gospel gets to the people who need to hear it? Maybe it means giving up some regular treat like my usual iced mocha latte so I can give that money to the gospel work. Maybe it means being willing to potentially embarrass myself by sharing the gospel with someone who isn’t interested. If we’re not willing to do that, what chance is there that, when push comes to shove, we’ll be willing to go to jail for taking the gospel to the lost? <br />
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Are we willing to “give up skin” for the lost? <br />
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<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Image via <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-and-white-concrete-house-beside-river-during-daytime-9Jgn8hSYUFc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unsplash</a></span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-38530098969231052432024-03-06T06:38:00.000-06:002024-03-06T06:38:23.651-06:00Utterly Insignificant<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1c1UG-dhlPNtEsAyZU5C3tH6niZgDvFAceTpOJLJakEmBgTjds4mYfU-sLbMAPBcMlkJEuYAuS9UnRFqtBiC7AEF98VNZdWzb5vbIGLFQ5xzA99qb-AOICF0AxjyTqgdB9d6DC7MeGJgCtg0vgK__oCYfcVGwRaX8SX6AoUZc_mI4EU4uIZz1kEOs60/s1224/pollen_colorized%20wiki.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="miscellaneous grains of pollen, colorized" border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1224" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1c1UG-dhlPNtEsAyZU5C3tH6niZgDvFAceTpOJLJakEmBgTjds4mYfU-sLbMAPBcMlkJEuYAuS9UnRFqtBiC7AEF98VNZdWzb5vbIGLFQ5xzA99qb-AOICF0AxjyTqgdB9d6DC7MeGJgCtg0vgK__oCYfcVGwRaX8SX6AoUZc_mI4EU4uIZz1kEOs60/w640-h375/pollen_colorized%20wiki.jpg" title="pollen" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">Isaiah 40-45 is one of my favorite stretches in the Bible. When I’m feeling down, this passage picks me up. It paints several pictures of who God is. And those pictures are big, which is why I love it. Because when God is big, everything else seems small.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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Let’s look at one place where that “bigness” is quite literal: <br />
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Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> or weighed the mountains on the scales<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the hills in a balance? ...<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> they are regarded as dust on the scales;<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=is+40.12-17&version=NIV" target="_blank">Is 40:12, 15</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
I have a scale in my bathroom. When I weigh myself, I don’t want to know the weight of my clothes or shoes, so I do it when I am dressed for the shower. I want to be as precise as I can, so I check the zero on the scale. (It’s a cheap scale.) I have never once, though, dusted the scale. The weight of the dust on the scale is completely insignificant when weighing something as large as a human. <br />
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Compared to God, all of the nations combined are like dust on the scale, completely insignificant to one who uses his hand to mark off the heavens. <br />
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If the nations are like dust, what is one person? An individual dust mote? A speck of pollen? Maybe an atom in that speck of pollen? Compared to the God who measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, I am completely, <i>utterly </i>insignificant. <br />
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But not to him. <br />
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To him, I am <a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2009/08/surprising-scripture-on-saints.html" target="_blank">treasure</a>. The very hairs on my head are numbered. He knows when I sit and when I rise; he discerns my going out and lying down; he is familiar with all my ways but loves me still. I am fearfully and wonderfully made; my frame was not hidden from him when I was made in the secret place; all the days ordained for me were written in his book before one of them came to be. He was willing to leave the ninety-nine to go look for me. There was rejoicing in the presence of his angels when I repented. And he rejoices over me with singing still.<sup>1</sup> <br />
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And the same goes for you. <br />
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The story is told of a woman who asked her pastor if it was OK to bother God by praying to him about small problems. <br />
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“My dear sister,” came the reply, “which of your problems do you think is ‘big’ to God?” <br />
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God is very, very big. I am very, very small. And so are my problems. They are less than dust on a scale. I can trust him to handle them. <br />
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1 <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph+1%3A18%2C+Matt+10%3A30%2C+Ps+139%3A2-2%2C+14-16%2C+Matt+18%3A12-13%2C+Luke+15%3A10%2C+Zeph+3%3A17&version=NIV" target="_blank">Eph 1:18, Matt 10:30, Ps 139:2-2, 14-16, Matt 18:12-13, Luke 15:10, Zeph 3:17</a><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Image: Misc pollen, Dartmouth Electron Microscope Facility, Dartmouth College </span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-61821617747381986122024-02-28T06:23:00.000-06:002024-02-28T06:23:40.517-06:00The Importance of a Balanced Diet<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHaqOmEVb826uvIr8OKefcARM9JzzJc26yESlCNf1ux6Lq0szGOTvKlbEwa1hPVKwSctjPfmEHz1IY517uyZOf_mzXN9ACAIbSemVFNrvRrqW1YjdCEprzt7E7a_0MfHvjeOR0olBDCJ7L2MgZO149BwxmYLdZuyK3Fe8cYPB7X091WJnrswDGfDcjIPw/s3195/diet%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="a plate representing a balanced diet" border="0" data-original-height="1993" data-original-width="3195" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHaqOmEVb826uvIr8OKefcARM9JzzJc26yESlCNf1ux6Lq0szGOTvKlbEwa1hPVKwSctjPfmEHz1IY517uyZOf_mzXN9ACAIbSemVFNrvRrqW1YjdCEprzt7E7a_0MfHvjeOR0olBDCJ7L2MgZO149BwxmYLdZuyK3Fe8cYPB7X091WJnrswDGfDcjIPw/w640-h399/diet%20pixabay.jpg" title="eating your veggies" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">Man cannot live by broccoli alone. <br />
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A diet of nothing but broccoli would lead to malnutrition. A healthy body requires a variety of foods to get the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats that the body needs to operate properly.<br />
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A healthy mind and soul needs variety as well.<span><a name='more'></a></span><br />
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Reading nothing but fiction might be compared to a junk food diet; reading nothing but apologetics might be akin to living off spinach. A healthy, well-balanced Christian will feed his mind some theology and apologetics while feeding his heart and soul some “Christian living” or devotional material or biography.<br />
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This is a reboot of a post I wrote many years ago. At the time, I’d just spent about a year and a half reading mostly biblical studies. I enjoyed it, and I learned a lot. But I felt kind of spiritually depleted. I needed to read some other things. I did a good job of varying my reading materials for a while, but then I fell into another pattern, this time focusing more on apologetics. Then systematic theology. Then apologetics again, more polemical stuff this time. And it shows. <br />
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Rather than going from rut to rut, I’m going to make an effort, again, to mix up what I read. I recently picked up a couple of biblical studies books, and I enjoyed them immensely. Now it’s time to read some discipleship. Then some theology, followed by a biography. And of course, some apologetics. With some fiction scattered throughout. <br />
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What about you? When’s the last time you read something outside your usual? Do you mainly consume romance novels or management books? Historical fiction is fun, and philosophy is important, but too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. <br />
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Variety is not just the spice of life; it’s good for the soul. If you have a need or special interest, that’s fine, focus on that, but still stick in something else every other book or two.<br />
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I’m not advocating being legalistic; I’m advocating being self-aware and attentive to your own soul. If you don’t take care of yourself, who will?<br />
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Now, what about students, especially those in seminary? I understand that you can’t always control what you read, and time is short and precious. I’d suggest that you make a serious effort to read some very different material between semesters – maybe even something “light.”<br />
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And to those who say, “I’d rather burn out than rust out,” I’d like to offer this: those aren’t the only two choices.<br />
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<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-10089803006150198082024-02-21T07:56:00.000-06:002024-02-21T07:56:41.351-06:00Pulling Weeds<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM1Ns9-2d9xGUSSYAH1U3FhukQxTfJfcyn-sZTvu03BdfEsqFrUmT_BN2chv8anZuWA1jF6prebQYkFeWxvkSvzqvwvMl2kdTO8ElEiFcuPd3vFX8O0vSc0dUKC2wCtcnhN9i9IpbGekFTXKguxKgwt17-tJtPMNzIHludhXjUPmEnQeUxd7ORAIYDVQ/s3986/weeding%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="a hand in work gloves pulling weeds in a garden" border="0" data-original-height="2161" data-original-width="3986" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM1Ns9-2d9xGUSSYAH1U3FhukQxTfJfcyn-sZTvu03BdfEsqFrUmT_BN2chv8anZuWA1jF6prebQYkFeWxvkSvzqvwvMl2kdTO8ElEiFcuPd3vFX8O0vSc0dUKC2wCtcnhN9i9IpbGekFTXKguxKgwt17-tJtPMNzIHludhXjUPmEnQeUxd7ORAIYDVQ/w640-h347/weeding%20pixabay.jpg" title="doing some weeding" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">As we read the scriptures, we will come across boring parts. In the Old Testament, we find long lists of numbers. In both Old and New we find genealogies. In the epistles we find sections that seem like filler, where the author is basically saying hi from everyone here to everyone there. It’s natural to want to skim or even skip over those parts. <br />
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Don’t. A little effort can sometimes find some powerful truths hidden in those passages.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
<br /><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=col+4&version=NIV" target="_blank">Colossians</a> ends with one of those “hi from” passages. Aristarchus says hi. Mark says hi. Justus says hi. On and on it goes. Here’s a tip: Look up those names. <br />
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How? You can use a concordance. The concordance in your Bible is usually pretty limited, so you’d probably need one that’s a separate volume. Or you can do it online. I strongly suggest doing it online. <a href="http://BlueLetterBible.org" target="_blank">BlueLetterBible.org</a> makes it very easy. (Go to the verse. Click on Tools. Click on the word you want to search.) <br />
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What do we find if we look up those names? You'll find two really have a story. <br />
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Mark first appears in Acts. The church seems to meet in his mother's house (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+12.1-12&version=NIV" target="_blank">12:12</a>). When Paul and Barnabas left on a mission trip, they took him with them (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+12.25&version=NIV" target="_blank">12:25</a>). Mark “deserted” them in Pamphylia. When Paul and Barnabas headed out on another trip, Barnabas wanted to take Mark again, but Paul refused. “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+15.36-41&version=NIV" target="_blank">Acts 15:37-39</a>). So Paul rejected Mark, but Barnabas took him under his wing. <br />
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Now, we don’t know how many years later, Mark is keeping Paul company while he’s in prison writing Colossians. Later on, Paul tells Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2tim+4.9-11&version=NIV" target="_blank">2Tim 4:11</a>). Mark also appears in Rome helping Peter (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1pet+5.12-14&version=NIV" target="_blank">1Peter 5:13</a>). And that, according to tradition, is how he ended up writing the Gospel of Mark. <br />
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We don’t get as much detail about Demas, but he also has a bit of a story. He’s mentioned again in Philemon, where Paul refers to him as a “fellow worker” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=phm+1.22-24&version=NIV" target="_blank">1:24</a>). He’s in it shoulder to shoulder with Paul. <br />
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For a while. The next mention of Demas is to Timothy: “Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2tim+4.9-11&version=NIV" target="_blank">2Tim 4:10</a>). <br />
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One is reminded of the Parable of the Sower, which Mark himself records. <br />
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A farmer sows his seed. Some falls along the path. Some falls on shallow soil and doesn’t survive the heat of the sun. Some falls on fertile soil but as it grows is choked by thorns. And some falls on good soil. Jesus explained: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
[Some people], like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+4.13-20&version=NIV" target="_blank">Mark 4:18-19</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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Mark started out, seemingly, choked by thorns. He wanted to follow Jesus, but when life in the mission field got uncomfortable, he headed home. Demas, apparently, did the same thing. <br />
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But Mark had Barnabas, who, apparently, did some weeding. Barnabas took the seed that was choked by thorns and made it fruitful. <br />
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We don’t know what happened with Demas. He’s not mentioned again in the New Testament nor by the apostolic fathers, the next generation after the apostles. <br />
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So this “filler” passage connects us to two stories, one of a disciple who had a rough start but a strong end, and another who had a good start and quite possibly a bad end. I hope the natural response is to ask, “Which am I?” <br />
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The story of Demas and parable of the sower should compel us to search our hearts. How deep is the soil? Are there thorns trying to choke out the gospel? Am I producing fruit? <br />
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If there are thorns, how can I remove them? <br />
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The story of Mark makes me ask, can I do what Barnabas did? I would give a kidney to know <i>how </i>he got Mark back on the path. But scripture doesn’t share that. And it’s probably going to be unique for every person. But Mark only finished strong because Barnabas helped him. Demas needed his own Barnabas. Is there someone in my life that needs me to do that for them? <br />
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So let this “filler” passage make us search our own hearts and also look outward, to see who may need us to come alongside them and help them to finish the race strong. <br />
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See also: <br /><a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2008/12/concordance-as-devotional.html" target="_blank">A Concordance as a Devotional</a><br /><a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2017/08/of-sons-and-promises.html" target="_blank">Of Sons and Promises</a><br />
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-3201827591598113242024-02-14T06:57:00.000-06:002024-02-14T06:57:24.509-06:00Good Medicine<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdUY8FN3QLgEuYHgD4_x1iBHxEGkYr99uIxY5wvYK8lC_Ie34Cy3ufnvga3z-jx2fxK_Uyk46pUcL6od6fjHOS_hMDsBxpy5o7nQyOGCPrcJoefqckQkG385OFubovEWOK_O-c_mhOPgKcySv3Vx_8pN2KF52GANECOXEk7lkhZb_-3QmqwXNpyLpXP4/s9188/girl%20shot%20unsplash.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="girl getting a bandaid after getting a shot" border="0" data-original-height="4729" data-original-width="9188" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdUY8FN3QLgEuYHgD4_x1iBHxEGkYr99uIxY5wvYK8lC_Ie34Cy3ufnvga3z-jx2fxK_Uyk46pUcL6od6fjHOS_hMDsBxpy5o7nQyOGCPrcJoefqckQkG385OFubovEWOK_O-c_mhOPgKcySv3Vx_8pN2KF52GANECOXEk7lkhZb_-3QmqwXNpyLpXP4/w640-h330/girl%20shot%20unsplash.jpg" title="getting a shot" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">My thirtieth birthday brought me the gift of a chronic stomach problem. I’d taken the day off from work, but I woke up feeling bad, and it only got worse as the day progressed. But stomach bugs happen, and I fully expected it to last no more than a day or two and then life would get back to normal. I was wrong. That was the new normal. <br />
<br />
I struggled with that condition for years. I spent most of 2006 nauseous. Finally they found a medicine that helped. It didn’t cure it, but it made the symptoms manageable. Ten years or so later, the doctor wanted to wean me off the medication and see how it went. By God’s grace it went well. I still have the occasional flare up, but nothing like the way it began. So the medicine worked. How do I know? I got better.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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There are two very unfortunate responses some people have to the gospel. They hear about the grace of God, how he is willing to forgive our sins by putting them on his Son and accept us despite all we’ve done, and both distort it in similar ways. <br />
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One response is to reject it. “So you believe a person who’s a Christian can rape and murder and still go to heaven? How is that just?” <br />
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The other response is to embrace it. For the same reason. “You mean if I say your sinner’s prayer I can do whatever I want and still go to heaven? That’s awesome!” <br />
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Both mistake the grace of God for a “get out of jail free” card. Instead, it’s the cure for what ails us. <br />
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Sin is not a bad habit; it’s a chronic, deadly disease. The gospel is not a free pass or a behavior modification plan; it’s a cure for the disease. And how do you know the medicine works? You get better. <br />
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The apostle most associated with grace in the New Testament also spends quite a lot of space telling us what a difference it ought to make in our lives. My favorite passage goes like this: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=tit+2.11-14&version=NIV" target="_blank">Titus 2:11-14</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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The grace of God makes sinners better. It doesn’t just treat the symptoms, it gets to the underlying cause — a corrupted heart. It gives us new affections that reject the things of this world in favor of something better. <br />
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Will we still have occasional flare ups of the disease? Sadly, yes. But our lives should show that the disease is getting better. <br />
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Of the two errors I mentioned before, the second is the one that tends to infect churches. Whether these people attend church weekly or just Christmas and Easter, there are sad numbers of people who treat the gospel as a “get out of jail free” card. “I prayed the prayer in church camp when I was 10, so I can live however I want.” These people need the real gospel, the one that renovates sinners. <br />
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Our society is full of the other error, people who reject the gospel because it lets “those people” do whatever they want. They need to see the grace of God actively transforming lives. What does that look like? Christians living like Jesus, full of grace and truth, compassion and kindness. And holiness. <br />
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Then they’ll see the grace of God is powerful and effective and that they, too, need the cure for what ails them. <br />
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-82044641218726313802024-02-06T20:47:00.000-06:002024-02-06T20:47:58.912-06:00When a Man Loves a Woman<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0U1TRiuwf-_c-MfmtbcpwMwAn6ghbfus_yXcRu17LZKYCofY2iShyMrg_ZnVyLKpZ7CmKYN3rq3kqv93fzl6fz_akkVn9Yiz8fO-IqNAhWjOSrMfxpiCID-RQnXbChgmPYQ5ULgVgmhPOeHdZW7HnNVdlxhsmFIThK22navZmbUssPGY3XRugYm7RAyg/s2995/wedding%20rings%20unsplash.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="man putting wedding ring on woman" border="0" data-original-height="1657" data-original-width="2995" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0U1TRiuwf-_c-MfmtbcpwMwAn6ghbfus_yXcRu17LZKYCofY2iShyMrg_ZnVyLKpZ7CmKYN3rq3kqv93fzl6fz_akkVn9Yiz8fO-IqNAhWjOSrMfxpiCID-RQnXbChgmPYQ5ULgVgmhPOeHdZW7HnNVdlxhsmFIThK22navZmbUssPGY3XRugYm7RAyg/w640-h354/wedding%20rings%20unsplash.jpg" title="to have and to hold" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">I’ve got this friend, let’s call him Bill. He’s had it pretty rough. But we can learn a lot from his tale of woe. <br />
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Bill met this girl and fell hard in love. I have no idea what he saw in her. She wasn’t pretty, wasn’t smart, wasn’t even very nice. But he was crazy about her. They got married, and she cheated on him before the ink was dry on the license.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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He was so good to her, and he made sure she had everything she could have wanted. But she kept cheating. She never met a man she’d say no to — except Bill. <br />
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And Bill knew. “You ought to leave her,” people would say, but Bill would just reply, “She’s my wife.” No matter what she did, he’d forgive her. No matter how much trouble she got into, he’d bail her out. <br />
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She was a terrible woman, but it wasn’t about her. It was about Bill. And Bill is a good man. <br />
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</span><hr size="3" width="50%" />
<span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
This is basically the story of God as told by the book of Hosea. Hosea lived out a parable of this with a wife who was unfaithful (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea%201&version=NIV" target="_blank">chapter 1</a>) until he had to redeem her from the slave market (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+3&version=NIV" target="_blank">chapter 3</a>). God lived it out generation after generation, century after century. <br />
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Israel took the gifts of God and used them to worship idols. They thanked gods of wood and gold for the bounty of heaven. This unfaithfulness was like an adulteress using her husband’s hard-earned money to buy gifts for her lovers. The scriptures even likens Israel to a prostitute who works for free (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ez+16.30-34&version=NIV" target="_blank">Ez 16:31-34</a>). <br />
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In all of this, God is the jealous husband. That’s a word that people struggle with today. But “jealous” does not always mean envious. Nor is it always irrational. If I am jealous of my neighbor’s new car, that’s envy, covetousness; that is sin. If I am jealous of my wife having friends or of her spending time with her family, that’s childish, controlling, and irrational. <br />
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But if I am jealous because my wife has a boyfriend, that is totally appropriate. God is jealous of his adulterous bride’s lovers. So he punished Israel. He gave her famine and pestilence. He allowed invaders to pillage her. All so that she would see the error of her ways and return to the husband of her youth. Because he is quick to forgive and relents at sending calamity, he was eager to return her to her former glory. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“In that day I will respond,”<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> declares the LORD—<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“I will respond to the skies,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and they will respond to the earth;<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the earth will respond to the grain,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> the new wine and the olive oil,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and they will respond to Jezreel.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
I will plant her for myself in the land;<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’;<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hos+2.18-23&version=NIV" target="_blank">Hosea 2:21-23</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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Under the New Covenant, the church is the bride of Christ. And Christ is no less jealous for his bride. Like a good husband, he will provide what his wife needs, but he will also expect his wife to remain faithful and true. <br />
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People today are much less likely to worship idols of wood or stone, but we still have idols. We can seek comfort and pleasure or the approval of men. We can trade fidelity to our God for power or peace with the world. Our Lord will be no more pleased that we worship intangible gods than if we bowed down to golden calves. <br />
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But if we repent he is always eager to bring his bride back home, to show her the love he showed her at first. <br />
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-50563896776683847932024-01-31T06:19:00.000-06:002024-01-31T06:19:33.255-06:00A Predictable God<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzP6yHjmyHMfO7pEq8SCJ7Z_rXcSAMi-tqYbs_wbGafY90oMFvk_dfdgu7lH2T4uC5b45y_A-0w6Y0yAMFs-7-_4P59b8O1bNdZnvexe2aHCvhDA6c1isjoHlUugtOxZ2p2z0DMYebgPEBiOPEUE6zWWWJbYcWH_egAlAdh4XQQ2EN8XLmlPg-HGMbp6c/s6000/Jonah%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Jonah and the big fish" border="0" data-original-height="3390" data-original-width="6000" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzP6yHjmyHMfO7pEq8SCJ7Z_rXcSAMi-tqYbs_wbGafY90oMFvk_dfdgu7lH2T4uC5b45y_A-0w6Y0yAMFs-7-_4P59b8O1bNdZnvexe2aHCvhDA6c1isjoHlUugtOxZ2p2z0DMYebgPEBiOPEUE6zWWWJbYcWH_egAlAdh4XQQ2EN8XLmlPg-HGMbp6c/w640-h362/Jonah%20pixabay.jpg" title="Jonah and the big fish" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">The story of Jonah is a staple of children’s Sunday school classes. However, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCAsF-ZVr90" target="_blank">big fish</a> gets more of the attention than the theology of the book. As adults, I’m not sure we do it much more justice. The fish goes from an amazing story to a topic of debate. We need to let Jonah teach us an amazing truth about God.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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Let’s review the basic details of the story: <br />
<br /><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jon+1&version=NIV" target="_blank">Jonah 1</a> opens, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’” Nineveh was northeast of Israel across the desert, in modern day Iraq. Jonah books passage on a ship heading west. God sends a violent storm, and to keep the ship from being destroyed, Jonah tells the sailors to throw him overboard. They eventually do, the storm is calmed, and a “great fish” swallows Jonah. Inside the fish, Jonah reflects on the error of his ways. He repents, and the fish coughs him up onto dry land. <br />
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“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’” Jonah is a bit more cooperative this time. He travels to Nineveh and goes deep into the city proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The leaders and people of Nineveh repent. “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.” <br />
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And Jonah is furious. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
He prayed to the LORD, “Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jon+4.2-3&version=NIV">4.2-3</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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Jonah fled to Tarshish because he wanted Nineveh to be destroyed, and he knew he couldn’t trust God to do it. Why? Our God has a “bad habit” of forgiving people. <br />
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Here Jonah refers to one of the passages of the Bible most commonly quoted in the Bible. In Exodus 34, YHWH “proclaimed his name” to Moses: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.... (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex+34.5-7&version=NIV" target="_blank">Ex 34:6-7</a>) * </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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This is born out so many times in the history of Israel. Who is God? He is compassionate, slow to anger, eager to forgive. How many times did he begin to punish them but relent at the slightest sign of repentance in Israel? <br />
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Do you know anyone who is so set in their ways that they’re easily predictable? Maybe it’s the grump who can always be counted on to find the dark cloud in any silver lining. Or the hot head who is guaranteed to lose it in traffic. Maybe it’s the grandmother who will always bury the grandchildren in presents they don’t need or the lady at church who can be counted on to show up with a casserole when someone dies. Sometimes we just know what to expect from people. We can set our watches by them. <br />
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So many people at one time or another ask, “Have I sinned too much? Will God forgive me?” No, you haven’t. Yes, he will. <br />
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This is who our God is, “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” He’s as predictable as the tides. You can count on it. <br />
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* Yes, I stopped short quoting the passage. I finish the quote and flesh it out in more detail in <a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2017/05/what-does-it-mean-to-fear-lord.html" target="_blank">What Does It Mean to Fear the LORD?</a><br />
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-79100920634394287342024-01-24T06:15:00.000-06:002024-01-24T06:15:14.689-06:00Maintaining the Tension<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9oHQfvUfn3m0PkENYQHxvXzXfkPXOUtHijXET962PIv-4QFF6b0fvpcYBaG2bF78AX-i6CpkaOOykHg8yn5nIerzvAgEaDegcpgehYV7iKUUHvrYNmxhIRkz6S80p-a9bQtBHWJV9bGRBnmWiTxYTF9A4Ym6XwnOCFl6GdYF5VIn64o0fYq7rSAlqs8/s4363/tug-of-war%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="children playing tug-of-war" border="0" data-original-height="1945" data-original-width="4363" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9oHQfvUfn3m0PkENYQHxvXzXfkPXOUtHijXET962PIv-4QFF6b0fvpcYBaG2bF78AX-i6CpkaOOykHg8yn5nIerzvAgEaDegcpgehYV7iKUUHvrYNmxhIRkz6S80p-a9bQtBHWJV9bGRBnmWiTxYTF9A4Ym6XwnOCFl6GdYF5VIn64o0fYq7rSAlqs8/w640-h285/tug-of-war%20pixabay.jpg" title="tug-of-war" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">Much of Christian theology is composed of two seemingly competing truths held in tension. Error creeps in when that tension is not maintained. Sometimes this results in heresy. Sometimes this results in misbehavior by the church. And sometimes this results in our failing our children and our culture.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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What are these competing truths held in tension? The prime example is the doctrine of the Trinity. God is one (in nature), and God is three (in persons). The tension between those two poles is essential. When it is lost we see objections like, “Was Jesus in the garden praying to himself?” This person has lost the threeness. The “divine child abuse” charge, on the other hand, has lost the oneness. <br />
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The nature of Christ is another. He is fully God. He is fully human. The tension between those truths is necessary to understand the atonement. Heretics will eagerly list verses that show Jesus was human. They’ve dropped the “God” end of the rope entirely. Modern Christians, though, can lose the tension on the human side. Jesus was not born walking, talking, and potty-trained. It’s unlikely he knew anything about quantum physics during his earthly life. He was a normal man unless his mission required something more. <br />
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A place the church has struggled with in the last couple of hundred years is over the tension on our mission and the nature of the kingdom. Bible scholars will talk about the kingdom as “already and not-yet”. Jesus came to inaugurate God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven — right now. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is among you” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lk+17.20-21&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 17:20-21</a>). But the kingdom will not be fully realized until Christ returns to destroy evil and make all things new (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rev+21&version=NIV" target="_blank">Rev 21</a>). When we overemphasize the “already”, it’s easy to lose sight of the future judgment and think our mission is merely to feed the hungry or try to soothe social ills. When we overemphasize the “not-yet”, it’s easy to think our mission is only about saving souls and lose sight of God’s commands to care for the poor and the brokenhearted. When we maintain that tension, as I think is becoming more common today, we see that our mission is both. <br />
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There’s one particular tension we struggle to maintain today, a place where our society really needs us to get it right. In both the pulpit and in the pews, people struggle with the tension required by Christian anthropology, that is, what we believe about humanity. <br />
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On the one hand, Christianity teaches that each individual is of inestimable worth. Each is made in the image of God. Each is a precious soul. Every believer is indwelt by God the Holy Spirit. <br />
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On the other hand, Christianity teaches that each individual is horribly corrupted. The image of God is marred in every human, and each soul is born at enmity with God. <br />
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When we overemphasize the one side, we end up believing that we’re all so wonderful that God just counts himself lucky when we pay any attention to him. When we pull too hard on the other, we can end up believing that we’re so dirty, so rotten that we’re little more than parasites in the world. <br />
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There’s a second axis on this one. Yes, each individual human is precious. But “no man is an island”. We are made for community. We are not complete unless we are part of a whole. And we are the company we keep. On this axis, we can over-value the individual or we can overemphasize our corporate identity. <br />
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In our society, even in our churches, we have people who see only the corruption of the fallen state. They see the church as teaching, even themselves as being so irredeemably wicked, so morally filthy that there is no hope and no value in a human being. It is sad when this view is used to attack Christianity; it’s heart-breaking when this view is actually turned inward to attack the self. <br />
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The opposite view may be more dangerous to the soul. When people over-value the individual, they seem to lose sight of sin and the need for repentance. Since we are so wonderful God is lucky to have us, he must not be overly concerned about our little foibles and lifestyle choices. God, in this view, doesn’t care about our behavior as long as we are generally “nice” as defined by our society. <br />
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On the other pole, we have people who see their identity entirely as part of their community. Their tribe is who they are, and they may see it as undesirable or even impossible to separate themselves from that. Unless they go the opposite direction and believe they are entirely independent from all other human beings. So we can get either identity politics or an extreme individualism that fails to recognize our role in a healthy society. <br />
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None of these errors are healthy for an individual or in our society. All of them represent truths Christianity teaches but taken to an unhealthy extreme, truth out of balance. <br />
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What can we do? We can make sure we present the truth in balance, that we do not leave people with the impression that only one of those strands is true. And we can correct people gently when we see that they have lost the tension on one of these truths. People are hurting themselves and others because they misunderstand what we say we believe. We can come alongside them and try to correct their course before they wash up on the rocks. <br />
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Tim Keller wrote, “The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone.” <br />
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Believe that. Teach that. Live that. <br />
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Related articles: <br /><a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2020/08/humanity-made-in-gods-image.html" target="_blank">
Humanity: Made in God's Image </a><br /><a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2020/08/humanity-broken-image.html" target="_blank">Humanity: The Broken Image</a><br /><a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2020/09/humanity-gods-image-restored.html" target="_blank">
Humanity: God's Image Restored </a><br />
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-2438334040487530532024-01-17T06:18:00.000-06:002024-01-17T06:18:51.655-06:00All Sin is<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsoBF7yTdbADcAEzielAjv6ph42-MTIS-2-z7yLaK9KVNAyXvrS-XcQ8hhXS81sCphyXoOxTv6mbGZbGtujK_6ROFyQ1lzdalrKEyoOD4jAEamy6MwBSSN1UlQjpUnqPNl5zMXHjQTqTsOSlXb2aq7CQeaXU4hc84ijJP7M3QhcI_R2JJSS0ki3o8MQY/s3480/gavel%20scale%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1951" data-original-width="3480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsoBF7yTdbADcAEzielAjv6ph42-MTIS-2-z7yLaK9KVNAyXvrS-XcQ8hhXS81sCphyXoOxTv6mbGZbGtujK_6ROFyQ1lzdalrKEyoOD4jAEamy6MwBSSN1UlQjpUnqPNl5zMXHjQTqTsOSlXb2aq7CQeaXU4hc84ijJP7M3QhcI_R2JJSS0ki3o8MQY/s600/gavel%20scale%20pixabay.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">There’s a common misconception among Christians. I’m not entirely sure where it comes from. I used to hold it myself, but I don’t know why. I don’t remember ever being taught it. Perhaps it’s a natural misunderstanding of some biblical truths. But it’s not true, and when we repeat it, we do harm to the cause of Christ and the reputation of our God. So let’s look at it.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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That common misconception is this: all sin is equal in God’s eyes. <br />
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This idea probably stems from some truths. All sin is sin. All sin makes us guilty in God’s eyes. One sin is sufficient to condemn a soul to hell. The scriptures tell us “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (<a href="james 2.8-11" target="_blank">James 2:10</a>) and “sin is lawlessness” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1jn+3.4&version=NIV" target="_blank">1John 3:4</a>). <br />
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So, yes, just as either writing a hot check or committing murder makes you “a criminal”, any sin, whether lying or adultery, makes you “a sinner” and “a lawbreaker.” But that does not mean God sees no distinction between those sins. It does not mean, if a person only committed one sin, he would see the same punishment, whether it was lying or murder. <br />
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Why am I so confident all sins are not the same? The words of Jesus. Here are five places where Jesus teaches that. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mt+5.18-19&version=NIV" target="_blank">Matt 5:19</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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So some commandments are “least.” And, we know, some are “greatest” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mt+22.36-40&version=NIV" target="_blank">Matt 22:36-40</a>). <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jn+19.8-11&version=NIV" target="_blank">John 19:11</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
In this passage, Jesus is talking to the one who will be sentencing him to death. He tells Pilate that “the one who handed me over to you” has committed a “greater sin” than Pilate’s <i>killing Jesus</i>. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mt+11.20-24&version=NIV" target="_blank">Matt 11:23-24</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
What was the sin of Sodom? Actually, there were many. There was gross sexual immorality but also idolatry, pride, inhospitality, and mistreatment of the poor. Capernaum’s sin? Rejecting Jesus. So it will be more bearable in the judgment for Sodom than for Capernaum. <br />
<br />
But does “more bearable” mean less punishment? Yes. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lk+12.42-48&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 12:47-48</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
Not everyone will receive the same punishment. <br />
<br />
Finally, the one verse that should have always ended this argument: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mk+3.22-29&version=NIV" target="_blank">Mark 3:28-29</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
There is clearly at least one sin that is worse than any other. <br />
<br />
We could continue and mine the Law and the epistles for more reasons to believe that all sin is not the same in God’s sight, but this is long enough already. <br />
<br />
I hope my point is made: the scriptures do not teach that all sin is the same in the eyes of God. We dishonor God when we tell people he sees lying as just as bad as murder. We do sinners no favors when we tell them God is like that. Our God is just, and justice includes appropriate consequences; the punishment must fit the crime. <br />
<br />
I don’t know how I got that idea; I’m not entirely sure what woke me up out of it. But I’m glad that I now can tell people that our holy God is a God of loving justice who will see that every sinner and every saint will be judged according to what they have done (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rev+20.11-13&version=NIV" target="_blank">Rev 20:13</a>). <br />
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<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Image via <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/gavel-justice-judge-courtroom-7499911/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pixabay</a></span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-6162289316900702662024-01-10T06:19:00.000-06:002024-01-10T06:19:50.517-06:00Begging Jesus<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNa_LJ9pnLsuhFNkTCT6jtf150_5m6-M42T7qK2NIDYwSQevMukzZEcE5hm6IrhYUZnHLNMTXdQitp6SpYa7aNSm1MF9I_2BpuQGHpsiaqTAUgm_OOy7J16T6gJmEFa-5DblMIes5SF0Qn0Ui2twZEF1IUJaNKJ55aPCOniFSnKXdxoA3Tb5C4i-0duVk/s1123/Mosaic_Gerasene_demoniac%20wiki.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Gadarene demoniac" border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="1123" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNa_LJ9pnLsuhFNkTCT6jtf150_5m6-M42T7qK2NIDYwSQevMukzZEcE5hm6IrhYUZnHLNMTXdQitp6SpYa7aNSm1MF9I_2BpuQGHpsiaqTAUgm_OOy7J16T6gJmEFa-5DblMIes5SF0Qn0Ui2twZEF1IUJaNKJ55aPCOniFSnKXdxoA3Tb5C4i-0duVk/w640-h466/Mosaic_Gerasene_demoniac%20wiki.jpg" title="Gadarene demoniac" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">Familiarity breeds boredom. When you’ve read a passage in the Bible countless times, it’s easy to assume you know it and breeze through, just trying to make it to the end. Slowing down and reading closer can make the familiar new. <br />
<br />
I’ve been reading through Mark, but only a pericope or two at a time, repeatedly. I’m trying to read it like someone who’s never heard of this Jesus guy before and to keep an eye on the broader story Mark is telling. When I came to the account of Gadarene demoniac, a familiar story I’m quite fond of, I saw something on my third pass through I would probably not have seen if I wasn’t reading with a pen in my hand.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
<br />
You might want to read the whole passage in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+5.1-20&version=NIV" target="_blank">Mark 5</a>, but here’s a quick recap: <br />
<br />
Jesus comes upon a man possessed by many demons, who is so strong he can break chains. He runs up to Jesus and says, “Please, Jesus, don’t hurt me!” So Jesus allows the demons to go into a herd of pigs (who promptly drown themselves). The herdsmen run into town and tell what happened, and the people come and ask Jesus to leave. The man freed from the demons wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus tells him to go home and share what God has done. <br />
<br />
It’s a familiar story; you probably could have written that recap cold. Which is the problem. Slowing down, making myself dig for details, I saw something I’d never noticed before that really reached out and grabbed me. <br />
<br />
My third pass through the passage, I’m looking for things I’ve noticed being repeated. I get to verse 17 and see the word “beg.” Didn’t I see that above? Yes. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he <u>begged</u> him earnestly not to send them out of the country. </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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Then the townspeople arrive. <br />
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16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to <u>beg</u> Jesus to depart from their region. </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
Two begs. Keep reading, and there I see one more. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons <u>begged</u> him that he might be with him. </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
We assume authors use the same term for a reason and look for why, so what’s going on in this passage? <br />
<br />
The demonic Legion begs Jesus “not to send them out of the country”, and Jesus complies. The townspeople beg Jesus “to depart from their region,” and he complies. <br />
<br />
The freed victim of the demons begs Jesus “that he might be with him.” He just wants to go with Jesus, to be with the one who saved him. But to this request, Jesus says no. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
Jesus granted the request of the demons. He granted the request of the people who were afraid of what Jesus would do next. Why did he reject the request of the man who just wanted to be with him? <br />
<br />
Because he’s now part of the mission. “Go and tell how much the Lord has done for you.” Once we belong to Jesus, his mission is our mission. Our short-term desires are less important than the long-term good. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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God does not waste anything. This man’s suffering now proclaims the gospel. <br />
<br />
And when God doesn’t give me what I beg for, it’s not because he’s hard-hearted or tight-fisted. It’s because there’s a mission, and my path is to further that mission, even if it’s a little uncomfortable for a while. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2cor+4.13-18&version=NIV" target="_blank">2Cor 4:16-18</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Image: Mosaic of the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, dating to the sixth century AD </span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-86388694384869499082024-01-03T06:04:00.000-06:002024-01-03T06:04:58.012-06:00Inductive Reading Tools<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNWvutdVHiYv49IoMoIsD1AUJCYrFj8iC5Zq_XmhTS9EUw3BjaLU2U8xH1qV_PvhmqcNjPcDQemMBMMAgaAMwd4wpMg7hhOyUUiUbaZn-RPytFeVP0BoSDL-8z1FQiJgK3wxoXMsrLLFbsQnnSNWMO0nXXTpOS1AR4f13xkkB9yVctaS4Rrm-cT4bOh4/s6015/bookshelves%20unsplash.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="full book shelves" border="0" data-original-height="3201" data-original-width="6015" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNWvutdVHiYv49IoMoIsD1AUJCYrFj8iC5Zq_XmhTS9EUw3BjaLU2U8xH1qV_PvhmqcNjPcDQemMBMMAgaAMwd4wpMg7hhOyUUiUbaZn-RPytFeVP0BoSDL-8z1FQiJgK3wxoXMsrLLFbsQnnSNWMO0nXXTpOS1AR4f13xkkB9yVctaS4Rrm-cT4bOh4/w640-h340/bookshelves%20unsplash.jpg" title="so many books" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">So you decide you want to try inductive reading. And then you vapor lock because there are just <i>so many options</i> in study tools. How do you decide what to use? Let me offer a little advice on that.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
<br />
First, let me take some of the pressure off: Anything is better than nothing. You won’t get the perfect study Bible or Bible dictionary because there is none, but anything you get will be better than not having one at all. However, I think we can make some distinctions that will help you make better purchasing choices. <br />
<br />
So you need a writing Bible, something like a single-column journaling or wide margin Bible. (Single-column will work better for this than a double-column layout.) Again, these are available in most translations, but I will offer that the ESV ones tend to go on sale a lot. <br />
<br />
For your “other translation”, don’t use a paraphrase like The Message. It’s almost like reading a commentary. Stick with the NLT or anything stricter than that. <br />
<br /><u>
Study Bible </u><br />
What about your study Bible? Here we need to be a little more choosy. You need good explanatory notes. You don’t want a devotional study Bible (eg, a “men’s study Bible”). The venerable Life Application Study Bible will not provide what we need for this. I also suggest avoiding a study Bible with one person’s name on the front. Those are usually more about teaching the passage than explaining the details. We want something that explains the details. <br />
<br />
My go-to in the narratives tends to be the <a href="https://amzn.to/3RZEywb" target="_blank">Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible</a><sup>§</sup> (available in NIV, NRSV, and NKJV). The <a href="https://amzn.to/3THqdWI" target="_blank">NIV Archaeological Study Bible</a> or the <a href="https://amzn.to/3vljTdh" target="_blank">ESV Archaeology Study Bible</a> would be good, too. <br />
<br />
In the epistles, I turn first to the <a href="https://amzn.to/3NK3Lsc" target="_blank">Zondervan Biblical Theology Study Bible</a>, but it’s good in the narratives, too; if I had to pick one, it’d probably be this. The ESV Study Bible and NIV Study Bible are also helpful. You’re looking for one that will explain the background or this unusual word, not tell you what the passage means and what to do with it — that’s what we’re trying to learn to do for ourselves. <br />
<br /><u>
Other tools </u><br />
A Bible dictionary is different than a regular Webster’s dictionary. It’s more like an encyclopedia, really. It’ll tell you how <i>the Bible</i> uses a word. They come in all sizes. The small ones will have fewer words and briefer entries. You want a big one, 1500+ pages. If you drop it on your toe, it should hurt. Spend a little more on a good one that will meet your needs for years to come. I have the <a href="https://amzn.to/48AJDR5" target="_blank">Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary</a> on my shelf. <br />
<br />
Study Bibles are really very brief commentaries. Editors put in just the essentials. A single-volume commentary will go into a little more detail. A two-volume commentary will go into more detail still. If you really want to go deep, you’ll want a commentary specific to that book of the Bible. If you buy a whole Bible commentary, I suggest going straight to a two-volume set like the <a href="https://amzn.to/3H4fkqp" target="_blank">Bible Knowledge Commentary</a>. If you decide you need or want a commentary on a specific book of the Bible, DA Carson’s <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3NKbUwx" target="_blank">New Testament Commentary Survey</a></i> and Tremper Longman’s <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3O8k8z5" target="_blank">Old Testament Commentary Survey</a></i> will point you toward quality commentaries that fit your needs and skill level. <br />
<br /><u>
Online tools </u><br />
You need a physical writing Bible. Everything else could exist online. Or you can mix physical with digital tools. <br />
<br />
Two very useful websites are <a href="http://BibleGateway.com">BibleGateway.com</a> and <a href="http://BlueLetterBible.org">BlueLetterBible.org</a>. Both give you access to many translations, and both will let you look up words like a concordance. Where else is this word used in the Bible? A digital search is far quicker than looking it up in a book. <br />
<br />
They will also give you access to commentaries and other tools. The free tools, though, tend to be pretty dated. For a fairly modest fee, BibleGateway’s membership gives users access to several study Bibles (including the Cultural Backgrounds and Biblical Theology Study Bibles), commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and Bible atlases. This might be a cost- and space-effective option. The downside is it requires you to have the discipline not to check your email, etc, while you’re supposed to be reading the Bible. <br />
<br />
<br />
I hope this helps you navigate the choices that are out there. But, again, anything is better than nothing. And the most important part of the process is what happens in your writing Bible with your pen. Paying close attention to the text and making life changes based on what you see there, this is what will cause spiritual growth. <br />
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<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
§ Amazon links are referral links, in which case the author may receive a commission based on your purchase. This in no way affects the price you pay. </span><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Image via <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/pile-of-books-on-shelf-cY-SXZp6TUY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unsplash</a></span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-8795853655232411642023-12-27T07:01:00.003-06:002024-01-05T06:13:39.580-06:00Reading for Depth Over Distance<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkHW7EfitCIsCGU9GAiFXTf9jCzjelsrv-FQV1dRmC3VpmCOGyCzAKmRYV_kXE_fyh6nlgbmqMMXLzI_EeuUTRWCMiTDrgFGAik8WfckMZtMCguEbqMLnX1ItVIML8hwAwjQxhErXf7Gg3mWse-u-nhTIhDtgJf56GLqttOyTIS6Fs8MaGK5QEtL7XL0/s983/text.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="An example of the method to be described" border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="983" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkHW7EfitCIsCGU9GAiFXTf9jCzjelsrv-FQV1dRmC3VpmCOGyCzAKmRYV_kXE_fyh6nlgbmqMMXLzI_EeuUTRWCMiTDrgFGAik8WfckMZtMCguEbqMLnX1ItVIML8hwAwjQxhErXf7Gg3mWse-u-nhTIhDtgJf56GLqttOyTIS6Fs8MaGK5QEtL7XL0/w640-h282/text.jpg" title="An example of the method" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">My wife and I joined a small Bible study group, and because of that I’m doing a deep study of the scriptures for the first time in far too long. I’d forgotten just how much I enjoy it and how much you can get out of it. But it takes a lot of time. I can read Colossians in 15 minutes. I can easily spend an hour studying one paragraph. What if there were a way to split the difference? What if we just spent that 15 minutes applying some of the basic principles of Bible study to that paragraph? <br />
<br />
I’ve been trying that. The result is seeing more than I’d ever see on a quick read through the passage. It doesn’t deliver the full benefits of a deep study, but it’s so much better than just a surface read. It’s like sitting down to a hot lunch versus a quick vending machine snack. <br />
<br />
After some experimentation, I’ve ironed out a method. Now I’m ready to share it, to show you how you can get more out of the Bible in the amount of time you already spend in it.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
<br />
The idea is to apply just a few of the basic concepts of inductive Bible study to your time in the scriptures. Let's call this inductive reading. <br />
<br />
Is this going to help you read the Bible in a year? No. At this pace, it’ll probably take at least three years. But you’ll get so much more out of it. <br />
<br /><u>
Materials </u><br />
To do this well you’re going to need a Bible that is made to be written in. Yes, you could probably make do with any Bible, but a single-column <a href="https://www.christianbook.com/page/bibles/devotional-bibles/journaling-bibles?search=journaling%20bible&search_term=journaling%20bible&ps_exit=RETURN|legacy" target="_blank">journaling</a> or wide margin Bible will work better. You can find a journaling Bible for every major translation. Get something you’re willing to mark up. The end result is going to be very colorful. <br />
<br />
You also need a study Bible and a Bible in a different translation than that writing Bible. Seems simpler to use a study Bible in a different translation, but that’s not necessary. Online tools will work for this, too. (Next time I’ll make some <a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2024/01/inductive-reading-tools.html" target="_blank">suggestions</a>.) <br />
<br />
You need some pens that are good for writing in a Bible. Most aren’t. You can find “Bible marking kits” at the Christian bookstore, or you could just get a set of <a href="https://amzn.to/48pZKBe" target="_blank">Pigma Micron pens</a>.<sup>∫</sup> You’re going to want a pretty fine tip to mark up your Bible; I prefer 0.2mm tips. You’ll also want a pencil. <br />
<br /><u>
Method </u><br />
How much you read on a given day is going to vary. Rather than worry about chapters, I suggest you look at <a href="https://maplehillchurchofchrist.blog/2018/06/15/what-is-a-pericope/" rel="" target="_blank">pericopes</a> [<i>puh</i>-<b>rik</b>-<i>uh</i>-pees], those divisions the editors of our translations add to break the text up into thought blocks. Some pericopes are longer, some are shorter, and they vary from translation to translation. If the pericope is very short, as some are in the gospels, you may go over more than one in a sitting. If it is long you may decide to break it up. If you read an entire chapter, fine; if you don’t; fine. <i>We’re going for depth over distance. </i><br />
<br />
Start in one of Paul’s short epistles — Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, or 1Thessalonians are good places to start. <br />
<br />
The process is to observe the text, <i>then</i> interpret the text, and then apply the text. There’s only one hard rule: <i>Do not look at the notes in your study Bible until the proper time</i>. <br />
<br />
Day 1: Actually, the first day, don’t read the Bible text at all. Read the Introduction to the book you’re reading in your study Bible. You want to know what kind of literature this book is, who wrote it, to whom it was written, and why. Some will give you concepts or topics to watch for. Try to keep all this in mind while reading the book. Look over the outline of the book. You may want to refer back to it as you read. <br />
<br />
Day 2: If it’s a short book, read the whole thing. If it’s longer, read the first 3-4 chapters. You just want to get a feel for how the book flows. For longer books, you’ll stop and do this again before moving on to a section you haven’t read. <br />
<br />
Day 3 (and on): <br /><i>
Observation</i>:<br />
1. Pray. You’re going to need help on this. <br />
<br />
2. Pick up your pen. Read the passage in your writing Bible. (Henceforth, go back and start reading from the last paragraph you read the day before. This will help you pick up on continuing ideas or connected stories.) <br />
<br />
3. The first time through, <br /></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">
In epistles, mark grammar. For example: What is the subject and object of the sentence? What tense are the verbs? Are they active or passive? What do the pronouns refer to? </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">
In narratives, mark narrative details. For example: Who’s speaking, time, locations. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Mark connectors — words or phrases like “therefore,” “in the same way,” “in those days,” “after these things.” </span></li></ul><span style="font-family: verdana;">
I always use green for this step, but just pick a color and stick with it, at least for this book. I underline present tense verbs; a backward or forward arrow underlines past tense or future tense. I put a ! after imperative verbs and a p by passive verbs. I write the antecedents of pronouns over the word and circle prepositions. Things like that. <br />
<br />
In narratives, you can circle every mention of one person, draw a box around another person, and underline a third person. Perhaps double underline locations and draw a little clock (just a circle with hands) by time references. Whatever will stand out to you. <br />
<br />
4. Read the passage again, this time with a different pen. Mark any words that seem really important to the meaning of the passage. Also mark any word that you don’t know what it means. Mark any purpose statements (eg, in order that, so that). Number any lists you see. <br />
<br />
Do you see the word “for”? In context, could it mean “because”? (Often it can.) If so, write “because” or “b/c” by it. Do you see the word “if”? If it’s part of a rhetorical question, you can probably think of it as “since.” Write that by it. <br />
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I like blue for this step. I put a wavy underline under words that seem key. I put a ? by words I don’t know or things I don’t understand. (These are things I’ll look up in a moment.) <br />
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5. Read the passage again, with yet another pen. Mark anything that seems emphasized. Are any words repeated? Do you see any contrasts (eg, “but now”, “not”)? Mark that. Mark questions and answers or causes and effects. Is that “if” part of a conditional statement? Mark that. <br />
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I like red for this. I mark repeated words or ideas (it’s not always the same word) with circles or boxes or underlines. I put a Q by questions, A by the answer. I use the crossed circle (like no smoking signs) for contrasts. <br />
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6. Ask questions of the passage. Use the “5 W’s” — who, what, where, when, why, and how? Get creative. Interrogate the passage. What would you like to ask the author? <br />
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Ask questions like “who is this referring to?”, “how does this work?”, “why did he say this and not that”? I write these in pencil. <br />
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The point here is to slow down as you read. As author Mark Ward says, "Exegesis is often about slowing down enough to recognize what the author is doing." <br />
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Here ends the observation part. The more you do here, the better your interpretation will be. The more you do it, the more you’ll learn to see and the faster you’ll see it. But doing it in 10-15 minutes is a short-cut. You can spend an hour doing this step. In fact, as you get better at it, you might. You can also stay in this passage all week, observing for 15 minutes a day until you feel like you’re ready to move on. Don’t feel like you have to stick to a schedule. <br />
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Interpretation</i>: <br />
7. Pray. This is where you actually figure out what the scriptures mean. You’ll want to ask for help. <br />
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8. Any verses with statements or words you marked that you didn’t understand, look at them in your other translation. It might be clearer there, or comparing the two may help you see what the author means. <br />
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9. Any words or statements you still don’t understand, look in your study Bible <i><u>but only at the cross references</u></i>. Your study Bible will have little superscript letters that let you know they’ve suggested another passage in the Bible that might shed some light on this passage. Read any cross references. Add any that are helpful to the margin of your writing Bible. <br />
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10. Look at your 5 W’s questions. Are there any that the text answers (now that you’ve gotten a better understanding in the last two steps)? If so, write the answer by it. <br />
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11. At this point you can look at the notes in your study Bible. Look at the notes for verses you still have questions about. We’re not going to the study notes for “what does this passage mean” but “what does this word mean” or “what does this sentence mean”. <br />
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If your study Bible doesn’t answer your questions, you have to decide: Does the meaning of this passage hinge on the answers to my remaining question? If so, it’s probably time to look up words in a Bible dictionary or even read a commentary. (Again, <a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2024/01/inductive-reading-tools.html" target="_blank">suggestions</a> next time.) If not, you can just move on. <br />
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Write</i>: <br />
12. Determine what you think the main idea of this passage is. What point is the author trying to make? If it’s making an argument, what? If it’s a narrative, what is the most important point to take away from the story? Write this at the top of the pericope in your writing Bible. <br />
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Ask some more questions of the passage: <br /> How does this passage fit into the main idea of the book (that you read in the introduction)? <br /> What does this passage teach me about God/Jesus? <br /> What does this passage say about people? <br /> How does this passage fit into the overall story of the Bible? <br />
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If you find one of those (or some other) questions resonates on this passage, write out the answer. <br />
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12.5. Highlights: A lot of people like highlighting in their Bibles. They highlight verses about hope or prayer or Jesus. More power to them. If you do that in this Bible, I suggest you pick one color and reserve it for this: Highlight the verse you think best conveys the main idea of the passage. <br />
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Application</i>: <br />
13. Here’s where the rubber meets the road. What should I do about what I’ve read here? <br />
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Is there ...<br /> a command to obey?<br /> an example to follow? <br /> a warning to heed? <br /> a promise to claim? <br /> a doctrine I need to make sure I know? <br />
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If there’s a change you need to make, be specific about what you need to do, how you’re going to do it, and when you’re going to do it. “I need to love my neighbor more” is too vague to be meaningful. “I will check on old Mrs. Smith every Saturday” is nicely specific. The text is here to make us more like Jesus. Let it. Make it. <br />
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So decide what you need to do. Write it down. And then pray. <br />
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Next steps </u><br />
Lather, rinse, repeat. Doing this every day, it’ll probably take you a week or two to get through one of Paul’s shorter epistles. When you finish one, move on to the next. If you miss a day or three, just pick up where you left off. There’s no schedule to keep up with. Just get back into the scriptures. <br />
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When you finish Paul’s shorter epistles, move on to the other short letters — James’, Peter’s, John’s, and Jude’s. Then try something new. Mark would be a good place to start narratives. After that, decide: Do you want to move to John or Genesis or try a longer epistle? <br />
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I would suggest saving Revelation for last. Very last. After you’ve studied the other 65 books last. Revelation is the final exam, and it will reveal how well you studied the Old Testament. <br />
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Conclusion </u><br />
Does this seem like a lot of work? It’s work. But I think you’ll find that it’s really not that much when you get into it. And I think you’ll find that you get the text into <i>you</i> more when you do this. And when the text gets into us, it tends to make us more like Jesus. And that is worth the effort. <br />
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Image is an reproduction of a recent Bible study. <br />
∫ referral link. The author may receive a commission based on your purchase; this in no way affects the price you pay.</span>ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-65976830557383013702023-12-19T06:22:00.000-06:002023-12-19T06:22:11.208-06:00A Hidden Wonder of the Incarnation<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0zu_UDQzdXNXJgnoq_VmLEMA13x1ddFlVQCK0zgxjj27g4WUmVi6StM8pl8dotn4-MaA_SrMJOMgnj23VqX2JtN4BfMdEohSnml6fXA7Fife5LBgH2yXEbXwQfIsADpKEZjduHu1y7B5HUeuk3fqTyuEU3i9ofd7Uhtxy1ZdjkaFV5QyLppY8_kr97I/s2019/nativity%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Christ child in a manger" border="0" data-original-height="1241" data-original-width="2019" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0zu_UDQzdXNXJgnoq_VmLEMA13x1ddFlVQCK0zgxjj27g4WUmVi6StM8pl8dotn4-MaA_SrMJOMgnj23VqX2JtN4BfMdEohSnml6fXA7Fife5LBgH2yXEbXwQfIsADpKEZjduHu1y7B5HUeuk3fqTyuEU3i9ofd7Uhtxy1ZdjkaFV5QyLppY8_kr97I/w640-h394/nativity%20pixabay.jpg" title="Christ child" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">When studying the Bible, sometimes noticing the smallest detail can open the passage up to you. And sometimes they reveal little gems of truth that are just casually tucked in beside the author’s main point. We hit upon one of those in our small group recently, and I thought it made an excellent meditation for Christmas.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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We’re studying Colossians, a beautiful little book with a lot to say about the supremacy of Christ. He created all things, visible and invisible. His salvation is complete and sufficient. Christ reveals the mysteries of God, and his wisdom is superior to anything that thinks it can compete. So, <br />
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“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily ...” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=col%202.6-10&version=ESV" target="_blank">Col 2:8-9</a> ESV) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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In our small group, I’m teaching them what is sometimes called inductive Bible study. The first task is to observe the text closely, and one of the most basic things to observe in the epistles is grammar. Yes, really. What is the subject and object of this sentence? What is the antecedent of this pronoun? What tense is this verb? <br />
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“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Dwells. Present tense. <br />
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We have been taught that Christ, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=phil+2.5-8&version=ESV" target="_blank">Phil 2:6-7</a> ESV). In Mary’s womb, Christ took on human form. He lived and died and rose from the dead in it. But it’s easy to picture him casting it off at his ascension. He did not. <br />
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Writing decades after Christ’s ascension, Paul says the fullness of deity still dwells in bodily form. It did then. It does now. <br />
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The Son of God did not put on humanity like a suit, something to be worn for a bit then removed, cast off as soiled clothing. He permanently added human nature, including the human form, to his divine nature. <br />
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This gives an incredible dignity to the human form. It is not “lesser.” It is not inherently dirty. It is not something to be freed from. <br />
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To those who say that matter is corrupt and something to be beaten into submission, the early church said the Son of God was not ashamed to take human flesh, somehow, into heaven. <br />
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To those who say that the flesh will be discarded, so what we do in the flesh doesn’t matter, the early church could say that Christ’s new creation body shows that humans are meant to be flesh + spirit, and what we do in the flesh will matter. <br />
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And to those who groan in broken bodies, the body of the Son of God tells us that all things will be made new. There is a place in God’s perfected creation for the human form because all that has gone wrong will be set right. <br />
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One day the dead in Christ shall rise. We will live, not as disembodied spirits, but as whole human beings. Christ Jesus, the “firstfruits” of the resurrection (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1cor+15.20-23&version=ESV" target="_blank">1Cor 15:20-23</a>), is our promise of that. <br />
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Image via <a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/christmas-crib-barn-bethlehem-1010749/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pixabay</a></span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-20944358568799272362023-12-13T06:12:00.000-06:002023-12-13T06:12:59.518-06:00Let's Stop Pretending We Believe in Jesus<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFjO-APHUxTCJvE19jfOGzBaBPO_rY1ZPxTDJBZgb2jiNsVcmEDwSIMH7xapGmhONz37nM4myqegB6wiTrkQ8XtfPRYRDoQ_UacZnkDEcg-Dw-M83AUCUMiSezZf2BFtsOjipQWLbzcHI8O2dWTjHkX7Ns9QcsW4X3F3nMY99ATnFrlwfSwjLxoJWq03I/s5667/santa%20cookie%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="hand in Santa Claus costume picking up a cookie" border="0" data-original-height="3113" data-original-width="5667" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFjO-APHUxTCJvE19jfOGzBaBPO_rY1ZPxTDJBZgb2jiNsVcmEDwSIMH7xapGmhONz37nM4myqegB6wiTrkQ8XtfPRYRDoQ_UacZnkDEcg-Dw-M83AUCUMiSezZf2BFtsOjipQWLbzcHI8O2dWTjHkX7Ns9QcsW4X3F3nMY99ATnFrlwfSwjLxoJWq03I/w640-h352/santa%20cookie%20pixabay.jpg" title="cookies for Santa" width="640" /></a></div>
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Do you believe in Santa Claus? Of course not. But you kind of act like you do. <br />
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You've told your kids about Santa Claus. You've told stories about him. You've sang songs about him. You probably even left him cookies at one time or another. <br />
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But kids? They stay up late trying to catch sight of him. They write him letters. They change their behavior because he's watching. They <i>believe</i> in Santa Claus.<span><a name='more'></a></span><br />
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So do you <i>believe</i> in Jesus? Do you depend on the fact that Jesus is Lord of all and that he died for your sins and rose from the dead? Do you live like his rules matter?<br />
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Do you believe, or do you just act like you do?<br />
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Are you good to your family? Kind to your neighbor? Do you work hard? "Do not even pagans do that?" <br />
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What does belief look like? "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice ... even though God had said to him, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead" (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=heb+11&version=NIV">Heb 11:17-19</a>). Abraham acted on his belief.<br />
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Or take Rahab, who helped the spies and gave up her city because she believed what God has said — that the land was being given to Israel (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=josh+2&version=NIV" target="_blank">Josh 2</a>). <br />
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Belief is doing the hard stuff because you believe what God has said is true. <br />
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Is it true that Jesus said lust was sexual immorality? How has this affected your magazine subscriptions or movie tickets?<br />
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Is it true that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil"? How has this affected your attitude toward your job?<br />
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Are we to "lend" without expecting to be repaid and submit to one another out of reverence to Christ? How has this affected how you live your life?<br />
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If all of these things are true, and if we say, "Jesus is Lord," do we act like he is <i>our</i> Lord? <br />
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"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder." Don't "believe." Don't pretend the gospel is true. Act on it.<br />
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— Inspired by <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james+2&version=NIV">James 2</a><br />
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Image via <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/santa-claus-hot-chocolate-1906513/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pixabay</a></span><br />
</span>ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-41406862575087684822023-12-06T06:33:00.000-06:002023-12-06T06:33:28.303-06:00The Long-Term View<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoiTTFEXZzwrNS5HenPVYVzcKhOtBB8Gf_v1mAIQt8Hb5ea4cDU9cFTfdsvKbYa68Bmy-du0W4kqrX86YCIsA66PgsKVAjfief_jfb6phlWVicjU_8ErjYtcF7HK82QHznKFtNS08QlDAEZw-6HfSmFsd4K6zTk5wCef_guG9pTkWTT1dvUbEVS7V8nVw/s3599/telescope%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="little boy looking through a telescope" border="0" data-original-height="2061" data-original-width="3599" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoiTTFEXZzwrNS5HenPVYVzcKhOtBB8Gf_v1mAIQt8Hb5ea4cDU9cFTfdsvKbYa68Bmy-du0W4kqrX86YCIsA66PgsKVAjfief_jfb6phlWVicjU_8ErjYtcF7HK82QHznKFtNS08QlDAEZw-6HfSmFsd4K6zTk5wCef_guG9pTkWTT1dvUbEVS7V8nVw/w640-h367/telescope%20pixabay.jpg" title="telescope" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">God plays the long game. He has plans within plans. He had our salvation planned out before the foundation of the world. As soon as Adam and Eve fell, he began telling us about it. He worked events out over the course of centuries, having Jesus born into a world perfectly shaped so that he would be put to death merely for claiming to be who he is. <br />
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We, on the other hand, are terrible at making long-term plans. My weekly meal plan doesn’t even usually survive intact. There’s a place in Mary’s Magnificat that is both a beautiful promise and a warning. It tells us that we need to get better at planning.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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After learning that she would give birth to the Christ, Mary visited her relative Elizabeth who welcomed her by immediately recognizing that she carried the Savior. Mary responded, <br />
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“My soul glorifies the Lord<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
for he has been mindful<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> of the humble state of his servant.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
From now on all generations will call me blessed,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> for the Mighty One has done great things for me—<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> holy is his name.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
His mercy extends to those who fear him,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> from generation to generation.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1.39-56&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 1:46-50</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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The song continues, but I want to look at that last line. It recalls many passages from the Hebrew scriptures, but the idea first appears in the Ten Commandments, where God said he shows “love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex+20.1-6&version=NIV" target="_blank">Ex 20:6</a>). <br />
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God is pleased for his love to flow from one generation to the next, on and on and on. But only “to those who fear him”. That is the necessary condition for his promise. <br />
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I, like many in my country, have a family tradition of faith. As I said <a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-geographic-objection.html" target="_blank">before</a>, my father and his father and his father, at least, were believers. But I also know my grandfather didn’t come to Christ until well into adulthood. I am sadly the only one of my father’s four children who seems to be following Jesus. Of my father’s grandchildren, my kids are the only ones likely to continue that tradition. <br />
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My children are (some of) my great-grandfather’s “grandchildren’s grandchildren.” But I can’t say they came to faith because we have a strong tradition of discipleship. I was raised in the philosophy of “you take your kids to church every Sunday and let things happen naturally.” After you believed and were baptized, the extent of discipleship was ... continuing to go to church. I cannot recall ever being told of the importance of personal Bible reading, much less Bible study, either at church or at home. Maybe they thought this was obvious; maybe they thought it was unimportant. I don’t know. <br />
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I tried to be more intentional about such things than my parents or their parents, but I know I could have done much better. All I can see that I can do to repair that is to gently advise my children on how to do better than I did with <i>their</i> children and hope those children follow what they were taught. <br />
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So how do I improve the odds that my grandchildren’s grandchildren hear the gospel and, upon believing, are discipled in the faith? Let’s say they do become believers. What kind of church will they find? Will they find a church that is all about entertainment and “somehow” still struggling to seem relevant? Or will they find a church that trains disciples to train disciples? <br />
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They will likely only find the latter if we create it, if we stop what we’ve been doing and do better. <br />
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Let’s start worrying less about attracting people and more about what we’re doing with the people we’ve got. Let’s teach people to weather the storms of this world. Let’s build them up in the faith once for all delivered to the saints. And let’s prepare them to do the same. <br />
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If we want someone to be able to disciple our grandchildren’s grandchildren, we need to start that pattern now. So let’s create a church that will teach our descendants to follow Jesus. <br />
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Image via <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/child-boy-blonde-curls-telescope-4573129/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pixabay</a></span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-48836930623049641622023-11-29T06:11:00.000-06:002023-11-29T06:11:55.838-06:00The Geographic Objection<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSVQvAUljm-xKeCG2XJ1nJTxzC1fnQnF6kYcHv3SAoWrvi-rVAbvAU56XMBrwthKXcT6c_6IvuDxOs6j8UheWEE1VYV8e14fuUSIYRaKw3iJ9UUcN7wdoE1uwtd1L3NDLMoLa_oYXHlNwAW2WTr454P6hiAIj5G5d3csuoCzF8i9EIBihgXvCmUXtjDI/s5479/map%20unsplash.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Map of North and South America" border="0" data-original-height="2797" data-original-width="5479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSVQvAUljm-xKeCG2XJ1nJTxzC1fnQnF6kYcHv3SAoWrvi-rVAbvAU56XMBrwthKXcT6c_6IvuDxOs6j8UheWEE1VYV8e14fuUSIYRaKw3iJ9UUcN7wdoE1uwtd1L3NDLMoLa_oYXHlNwAW2WTr454P6hiAIj5G5d3csuoCzF8i9EIBihgXvCmUXtjDI/s600/map%20unsplash.jpg" title="map" width="600" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">“Have you noticed that Christians tend to live in the West, people in the Middle East are Muslim, and people in the Far East are Hindu or Buddhist? Being a Christian is just a matter of where you were born, and if you were born in Iran, you’d be Muslim.” <br />
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Have you heard this objection before? The implication (if they don’t flat out say it) is Christianity is just another regional myth, and you simply subscribe to the one that’s local to you. Let’s look at how we can answer this.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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First, we should acknowledge a certain amount of truth in that. You’re more likely to be exposed to Christian ideas in the West than in other parts of the world. You’re more likely to find Christianity reasonable if you were raised in it. Of course, it’s entirely possible to be inoculated against true Christianity by growing up around it, but that’s a distinction the skeptic isn’t interested in. <br />
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But family history is not why we are Christians. We are Christians because we are convinced it’s true. I serve the God of my father and his father and his father. I will not be ashamed of that. But I do not follow Jesus because of my family history. Every believer who grew up in the church has always had to make a conscious decision to follow Christ, to make their parents’ faith theirs. And especially in the modern world, that will require facing hard questions about the Bible, the existence of God, and miracles. Growing up in the West may make this slightly easier, but <a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-deconstruction-of-my-faith.html" target="_blank">it doesn’t make it easy</a>. <br />
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Also, Christians do not, in fact, tend to live in the West. They tend to live in what is called the “<a href="https://www.gordonconwell.edu/blog/the-100-year-shift-of-christianity-to-the-south/" target="_blank">global South</a>”. This charge does not account for Christians who grew up Christian in non-Christian countries. It also doesn’t account for Christians who grew up non-Christian but converted. There are Christians all over the world who grew up Christian in a nation hostile to Christianity, that didn’t reinforce Christian beliefs. There are also Christians all over the world who grew up Muslim or Hindu or atheist, in a society that reinforced those views, and still converted to Christianity. Today a lot of Iranians are coming to Christ. So this charge of “you’re only Christian because of where you grew up” falls pretty flat. <br />
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Finally, the same charge could be leveled against them: You’re much more likely to be an atheist if you’re a modern, affluent Westerner. If geography proves Christianity is untrue, then it proves atheism is untrue. But of course it proves no such thing. Ideas and beliefs systems stand or fall on the merit of their arguments and the facts that support them. <br />
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This whole charge is a kind of Bulverism. Saying, “You just think that way because of where you grew up” doesn’t refute what you think; it just attacks it. <br />
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CS Lewis, who coined the term, explains the error: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Suppose I think, after doing my accounts, that I have a large balance at the bank. And suppose you want to find out whether this belief of mine is ‘wishful thinking’. You can never come to any conclusion by examining my psychological condition. Your only chance of finding out is to sit down and work through the sum yourself. ... In other words, you must show <i>that</i> a man is wrong before you start explaining <i>why</i> he is wrong. The modern method is to assume without discussion that he is wrong and then distract his attention from this (the only real issue) by busily explaining how he became so silly.<sup>1</sup> </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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I was fortunate in where and when I was born. Growing up in the US in the late 20th century allowed me to be taught amazing facts about the world, horrifying truths of history, and mind-bending theories of science. And Christianity. All of those things are true or false no matter where or when I grew up. <br />
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<br />
1 “Bulverism”, in <i>God in the Dock</i>. Read a little more of the passage <a href="https://uncommondescent.com/culture/c-s-lewis-on-bulverism/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-84051790632265318732023-11-21T06:53:00.000-06:002023-11-21T06:53:29.578-06:00The God Who isn’t Fooled<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygRM293E8tPIbEBnkgoyNwPOVGM8zb5cEo0zN65c5YFqUJ5KZHPSrLNx8pNiRLMQnYpDJXG4I7u9goVIFcAG9jdnB5612Eo00Z1onq05XapwjaO-7_q_IK55tR6fz8pSZpV0VkcQ07cDcfCwDkqUs9ddFdZ-2q6LV4nAPHe93QUuPqvWNH39cIayHgFc/s1920/feast%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="a table filled with food" border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1920" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygRM293E8tPIbEBnkgoyNwPOVGM8zb5cEo0zN65c5YFqUJ5KZHPSrLNx8pNiRLMQnYpDJXG4I7u9goVIFcAG9jdnB5612Eo00Z1onq05XapwjaO-7_q_IK55tR6fz8pSZpV0VkcQ07cDcfCwDkqUs9ddFdZ-2q6LV4nAPHe93QUuPqvWNH39cIayHgFc/w640-h359/feast%20pixabay.jpg" title="They kept all the feasts" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">Action is character. We all know people who say one thing and do another. Maybe they even do the right things for a while. But eventually the truth comes out. What people end up doing eventually, what they do when things get hard, or what they do when no one is looking, this is what reveals who they really are. One of the hard parts of growing up is learning this truth, usually painfully, and learning to see through the masks. <br />
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Amos tells us that God sees through the pretense quite well. Let’s look at one of the most famous passages in the minor prophets.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=amos+5&version=NIV" target="_blank">Amos 5</a>, after listing more of their sins and warning them about the coming judgment, the LORD says, <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals;<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> your assemblies are a stench to me.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I will not accept them.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I will have no regard for them.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Away with the noise of your songs!<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> I will not listen to the music of your harps.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
But let justice roll on like a river,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=amos+5.18-27&version=NIV" target="_blank">5:21-24</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
Ancient Israel had a pretty full religious calendar. There were major festivals throughout the year and smaller events monthly, every new moon. At this time, Israel was still going through the motions. They observed all the feasts. They brought their sin offerings and thanks offerings and everything else. And God hated it. It was empty. They thought they could please, or more likely appease, God by following these rituals even though they also worshiped other gods. And they thought it was OK to pick and choose which rules they would follow. Keeping the holidays and offering the sacrifices did not excuse their mistreatment of the poor and the weak. <br />
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God had no problem seeing through their little charade. Keeping the fun parties and going through the motions of the temple worship didn’t hide their contempt for God’s law, their abuse of his people. God is far more interested in the latter than the former. As he says elsewhere, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hos+6.6&version=NIV" target="_blank">Hos 6:6</a>). <br />
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God is not fooled by empty religiosity. He doesn’t care about our songs. He isn’t impressed that we give pocket change to the church. He isn’t honored when we show up to worship. He cares how we treat people. He’s impressed when we give more than we can spare (cf, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lk+21.1-4&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 21:1-4</a>). He is honored when we show his love to the world around us. <br />
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The good news is this works both ways. He can see when we’re just superficially religious. He can also see when we’re really trying but just screw-ups. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
As a father has compassion on his children,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
for he knows how we are formed,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> he remembers that we are dust. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ps+103.8-18&version=NIV" target="_blank">Psalm 103:13-14</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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For those who really want to honor the Lord but just can’t seem to get it right, God has great patience. <br />
<br />
So let’s examine our hearts. Are we truly trying to honor God, or are we trying to skate by on the bare minimum? Are our festivals about food and fun or faith in our Savior? And are we loving those he told us to love? God is not fooled, but he’s pleased by even stumbling steps in his direction. <br />
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Image via <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/christmas-dinner-buffet-party-2428029/" target="_blank">Pixabay</a></span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-56662500385400040142023-11-15T08:48:00.000-06:002023-11-15T08:48:07.587-06:00The Problem of the Likable Lost<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZW3-8-0YlYYHwjzbWlIZqJhJSgL-67hS3DRDM3ThWnJ-s4N_2cx56P7KT6rV-CA-Z_PZregp0f_qebgtUVddfz-mqSiOWUoEMsYe1yNVjEpbmyNeCgJHpPYNn_n1-w_aIUxihwiDY6qWlWQ_-Q2_TaDQkW008R8sG2CBzVTSWTG0aSvGgQCY-i1N2jM/s5958/friends%20unsplash.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="friends sitting around a campfire talking" border="0" data-original-height="3057" data-original-width="5958" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZW3-8-0YlYYHwjzbWlIZqJhJSgL-67hS3DRDM3ThWnJ-s4N_2cx56P7KT6rV-CA-Z_PZregp0f_qebgtUVddfz-mqSiOWUoEMsYe1yNVjEpbmyNeCgJHpPYNn_n1-w_aIUxihwiDY6qWlWQ_-Q2_TaDQkW008R8sG2CBzVTSWTG0aSvGgQCY-i1N2jM/w640-h329/friends%20unsplash.jpg" title="friends" width="640" /></a></div>
<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">For many people, the thing that makes Christianity hard to believe is the miracle stories — talking donkeys, burning bushes, and walking dead people.<br />
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But for another group of people the hard thing is the people they meet. This can be true for both non-Christians and Christians, and it's the latter that I want to talk about.<span><a name='more'></a></span><br />
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For Christians, likable non-Christians can be a strong anti-apologetic. Once we leave our Christian enclaves, we run into nice Muslims, homosexuals, and atheists, and it's hard to think that these people are "wicked sinners" who deserve hell. I've been there. Some of the nicest people I've ever met were Mormons. I've got friends and family living a gay lifestyle. I care about a number of people whose philosophy of religion can be summed up as "meh," including several who'll be sitting across from me at family holiday gatherings.<br />
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These people make us want to believe that big chunks of Christianity aren't true. Jesus rose from the dead? Sure, fine. God is love? Cool. There will be a judgment after which the unbelievers will be cast away and punished forever? Whoa, wait a minute, I don't like that one. <br />
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There are two very important things that we have to keep in mind when we struggle with this.<br />
<br />
First, we didn't just come up with this. People ask how we can believe in terrible things like hell. I counter that I believe it for the same reason I believe if you step off a cliff you'll fall to your death — it's true. The truth isn't always nice. Important truths frequently aren't. <br />
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We didn't just sit around making up a theology and decided we needed something to do with the "others." We didn't decide that <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14.6&version=NIV" target="_blank">Jesus is the only way to God</a>. We didn't decide that there would be a <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A21-3&version=NIV" target="_blank">judgment</a>. We didn't just make up <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25.31-46&version=NIV" target="_blank">everlasting punishment</a> for unbelievers. Jesus said that.<br />
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If we believe <a href="http://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2015/01/crib-sheets-why-do-i-believe-in.html" target="_blank">Jesus rose from the dead</a> we have to accept that he <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+2:18-20&version=NIV" target="_blank">pointed to that</a> as a vindication of all of his work and teaching. And he taught that one day he would have to tell many people, "Depart from me, I never knew you."<br />
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Secondly, we have to remember that, as much as we hate this truth, God hates it more. <br />
<br />
CS Lewis put it this way: "I said glibly a moment ago that i would pay 'any price' to remove this doctrine [of hell]. I lied. I could not pay one-thousandth part of the price that God has <i>already paid</i> to remove the fact [of it]" (<a href="http://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2007/07/review-problem-of-pain-by-c-s-lewis.html" target="_blank">The Problem of Pain</a>, emphasis added).<br />
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God paid a high price to keep people from going to hell. And then he told us to go tell everybody about it. <br />
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So don't let your love of your non-Christian friends and family make you shy away from the truth of the gospel. Let it make you determined to share with them the good news: <br />
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We're <em>all</em> wicked sinners, but while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205%3A7%2D9&version=NIV" target="_blank">Rom 5:8</a>).<br />
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Image via <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/group-of-people-sitting-on-front-firepit-x9I-6yoXrXE" target="_blank">Unsplash</a></span><br />
</span>ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-66198314386074586262023-11-08T15:15:00.000-06:002023-11-08T15:15:36.603-06:00The God of Discipline<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-F2Wx_Ieqn47pghq6wQSG3yWfi1YOkcQRxz67FjBQ6WuaMD090FBg2wiG6-cfkgjKagUu5PLwidQLgnIcmhcQwTXp1wqYX9YpWsfgcyZYQd_3qVnB2xsCTOQbob0-k6wpIScxkx_ieOcSeUVYCOmRQurHnEJG6hTeyW_TtW-adA-EsKIyXgn1oko9xVg/s2189/desert%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="a desert with dry, cracked ground" border="0" data-original-height="1249" data-original-width="2189" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-F2Wx_Ieqn47pghq6wQSG3yWfi1YOkcQRxz67FjBQ6WuaMD090FBg2wiG6-cfkgjKagUu5PLwidQLgnIcmhcQwTXp1wqYX9YpWsfgcyZYQd_3qVnB2xsCTOQbob0-k6wpIScxkx_ieOcSeUVYCOmRQurHnEJG6hTeyW_TtW-adA-EsKIyXgn1oko9xVg/w640-h365/desert%20pixabay.jpg" title="a desert place" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">Does anyone like disciplining their kids? I could happily have gone my whole life without ever having to do that. Before our first was born, we agreed that we would not punish mistakes but only willful disobedience, only when they knew exactly what they ought to do and refused to do it. And that’s all they did! If you don’t nip that in the bud, you can’t take your kids out in public. Undisciplined children become adults no one wants to be around, not even their cell mates. <br />
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We do not punish our children because we enjoy it; we discipline our children for their own good. God also disciplines his people for their good.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=amos+4&version=NIV" target="_blank">Amos 4</a>, after recounting more of Israel’s sins, God says this: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“I gave you empty stomachs in every city<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and lack of bread in every town,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> yet you have not returned to me,”<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> declares the LORD. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=amos+4.6-12&version=NIV" target="_blank">4:6</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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He also says he sent them drought and blight, plagues and invaders. And, <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“I overthrew some of you<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> yet you have not returned to me,”<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> declares the LORD. </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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“Therefore this is what I will do to you, O Israel,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and because I will do this to you, O Israel,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> prepare to meet your God.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=amos+4.6-12&version=NIV" target="_blank">4:11-12</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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And though he seems quite done with them, he still comes back to this: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Seek good, not evil,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> that you may live.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> just as you say he is.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Hate evil, love good;<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> maintain justice in the courts.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> on the remnant of Joseph. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=amos+5.11-15&version=NIV" target="_blank">5:14-15</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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Our God is not eager to punish. His punishment is intended to bring us to repentance. And even when it seems like it’s too late, he still says there’s time to repent, there’s hope for mercy. <br />
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We must not accept our culture’s caricature of the angry God who just wants to smite people. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus is the God who said, “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ez+18.21-23&version=NIV" target="_blank">Ez 18:23</a>). <br />
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Yes, eventually he will judge. The time comes when justice must be done. But he so often seems to hold off on that moment as long as possible. He’s like that parent who counts, “One, two ... two and a half ... two and three quarters ...” But eventually he gets to three. <br />
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What about my life? Is hardship in my life a sign of God’s discipline? Not necessarily. But it might be. The smart thing to do would be to take a hard look at myself and see if there is a sin I need to turn from. It’s better to get your act together at “one”. <br />
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Let’s be grateful for the discipline of a loving Father and remember that he does it for our own good. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and do not resent his rebuke,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
because the LORD disciplines those he loves,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> as a father the son he delights in. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=prov+3.11-12&version=NIV" target="_blank">Prov 3:11-12</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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See also: <br /><a href="http://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2009/01/wrath-and-repentance.html" target="_blank">Wrath and Repentance</a><br />
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-44161077729219787272023-11-01T06:00:00.000-05:002023-11-01T06:00:47.994-05:00The Puzzle of Scripture<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhym6lF-XbfLgeBOarucBetT8VBBiP8cqbLwgnmp3BP3DBITh-0RKzL1s1Efn_i4EE0SHd-oAhg72lLtJYCihWv8-jXFxrBirqQhYcKHNG8E1L0eUJSV5Meg0fsNomXslYZvEnbb4JNH6G1Ue8_mdeasihFWgbPm555XuYwftdhE_4WxdqHyuI-otV3QSo/s5010/puzzle%20unsplash.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="child working word search puzzle" border="0" data-original-height="2641" data-original-width="5010" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhym6lF-XbfLgeBOarucBetT8VBBiP8cqbLwgnmp3BP3DBITh-0RKzL1s1Efn_i4EE0SHd-oAhg72lLtJYCihWv8-jXFxrBirqQhYcKHNG8E1L0eUJSV5Meg0fsNomXslYZvEnbb4JNH6G1Ue8_mdeasihFWgbPm555XuYwftdhE_4WxdqHyuI-otV3QSo/w640-h337/puzzle%20unsplash.jpg" title="word search" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">I enjoy reading fantasy, but whether it’s high fantasy or urban fantasy, there’s a trope that I find incredibly frustrating: the wizard who won’t tell people what they need to know. Even Gandalf sent poor Frodo to walk to Bree without telling him one tenth of what he knew about the One Ring. Instead, everything is need-to-know until something forces them to share their secrets. <br />
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I feel some of that same frustration at times with the Bible. Couldn’t it be, you know, ... clearer? Why do we have to work so hard to make it give up its secrets? Why didn’t God just tell us what we want to know?<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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If I had my druthers, the Bible would be organized something like this: <br />
Part I. Systematic Theology <br />
Part II. Plan of Salvation <br />
Part III. Ethics <br />
Part IV. Everything You Want to Know About the End Times <br />
<br />
Instead we get something that looks to the casual observer like one part soap opera, one part stream of consciousness rules, and one part rantings by your crazy uncle. Why? <br />
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The last few years I’ve been reading Proverbs over and over. (Pro-tip: If you have it on your phone, you can read a handful of verses at a time whenever you have three minutes to kill.) One of the central features is its scatteredness; after the first few chapters, it’s just a jumble. There is no chapter on money; if you want to know everything Proverbs has to say about money, you have to read the whole thing. So you cannot read all the proverbs about money without also reading all the proverbs about integrity, sexual morality, and family. <br />
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The Law of Moses is the same way. It starts with the Ten Commandments, then we get rules about altars, servants, personal injuries, protection of property, sexual morality, foreigners, the poor, and food all within a couple of pages. Then it talks about the tabernacle. But it comes back to all of those other topics again, this time in more detail. Even though there are chapters with a lot of instructions about, say, sexual morality, there is no one section you can read and say, “I’ve got all the rules about sex right here.” <br />
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The whole Bible is that way. Why didn’t God make it simple? <br />
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First, I really think if the Bible was more like a textbook we would read it once and be done with it. As it is, we have to struggle to master the material. You can read it over and over and still come across a passage you feel like you’ve never read before. He doesn’t make it simple because he <i>wants</i> us to work for it. He wants us to make a lifelong project out of it. <br />
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Second, there are some parts that it seems better that they’re unclear. If the scriptures clearly said, “The Messiah will be the incarnation of God, born of a virgin, raised in poverty and obscurity, be an itinerant preacher, die for the sins of the world, rise from the dead, leave for a long time, then come back and set everything right”, would the events of the gospels have played out the same way? Jesus was put to death for claiming to be exactly who he was, but that happened because it was unclear what the Messiah would be. Similar things can be said for end times prophecy; we’d like to know all the details, but God does not seem to want to make it very clear for us. Instead we struggle to understand and try to live like he could come back any moment. <br />
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Isn’t that cruel, though? Does this mean people go to hell because they don’t have the patience to wade through the scriptures, figuring out what they need to do? <br />
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No. As the old country pastors would say, “the main thing is the plain thing.” It’s never been that hard to figure out what God really wants from us. Starting in Genesis, we see that “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen+15.1-6&version=NIV" target="_blank">15:6</a>) and God expected people to obey what they knew. This is the pattern throughout the scriptures: believe God and follow the rules you know.<br />
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But if you really want to seek him, if you really want to know his will, you’re going to have to do the hard work of combing through the Bible. He made it so that the only way to know all he has to say about anything is to read all he has to say about everything. <br />
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Image via <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-child-is-writing-on-a-book-with-a-pencil-S6h6l3wWQ-A" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unsplash</a></span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-40710376952794924872023-10-25T06:20:00.001-05:002023-10-25T06:20:27.723-05:00The God of the Poor and Weak<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XV1GR_Rrl4uPyU0iJkDwn2YGC1EkFCNdf-WHrNjERLOEdfeQ_WoN0Yc3V0nF1rlhjwJQeFPE9wbyZTh1vRokDVWcLnp3gQl-W57s2wtlwd4l-yWx8vMgQNcj36pjXb4G5dlMZqQUfKV_ob8CJsTRMlJW6b_bEtPb7UlxTG2LPO6i_QSPVtVbbTalibY/s5332/poor%20girl%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="poor girl" border="0" data-original-height="2672" data-original-width="5332" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XV1GR_Rrl4uPyU0iJkDwn2YGC1EkFCNdf-WHrNjERLOEdfeQ_WoN0Yc3V0nF1rlhjwJQeFPE9wbyZTh1vRokDVWcLnp3gQl-W57s2wtlwd4l-yWx8vMgQNcj36pjXb4G5dlMZqQUfKV_ob8CJsTRMlJW6b_bEtPb7UlxTG2LPO6i_QSPVtVbbTalibY/w640-h321/poor%20girl%20pixabay.jpg" title="the poor and the weak" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">Our culture likes to root for the underdog. Our actual track record may be mixed, but in principle, we hate bullies and love people who stand up for the weak. Where do you think we got that?<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
<br />
Amos was sent to Israel, the northern of the divided kingdoms. After denouncing six pagan nations, he turned his attention to Judah, the southern kingdom, but his pronouncement was pretty general, like those against the pagan nations: Judah has not followed the law of God (2:4). <br />
<br />
Then he turns to Israel and gets quite specific: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
This is what the LORD says:<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“For three sins of Israel,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> even for four, I will not relent.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
They sell the innocent for silver,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the needy for a pair of sandals.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
They trample on the heads of the poor<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> as on the dust of the ground<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and deny justice to the oppressed.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Father and son use the same girl<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and so profane my holy name.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
They lie down beside every altar<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> on garments taken in pledge.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
In the house of their god<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> they drink wine taken as fines. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos+2.4-16&version=NIV" target="_blank">2:6-8</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
There’s a lot going on here. Clearly sexual immorality and idolatry are being practiced, but the emphasis of the passage seems to be on their mistreatment of the poor and the weak. They’re selling the innocent and denying justice to the oppressed — denying them justice in court, probably when the rich sue them, claiming they owe them what they do not. Or perhaps accusing them of something evil, as Jezebel did Naboth, having him executed for blasphemy in order to acquire his vineyard (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1kings+21&version=NIV" target="_blank">1Kings 21</a>). <br />
<br />
God’s standard for justice is impartiality: “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lev+19.15&version=NIV" target="_blank">Lev 19:15</a>). Rich or poor shouldn’t matter; apply the law evenly. But, let’s face it, partiality to the rich is a much greater danger than partiality to the poor, so that gets mentioned more often. And this is just such a case: They’ll sell the needy (take a bribe to rule against them) for as little as a pair of shoes.<br />
<br />
They also keep garments taken in pledge, which was forbidden:</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex+22.26-27&version=NIV" target="_blank">Ex 22:26-27</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
From the rest of the passage, it seems the wine was probably taken as fraudulent fines. The girl father and son use is probably a slave girl being abused as “community property” instead of treated as a wife (cf, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex+21.7-11&version=NIV" target="_blank">Ex 21:7-11</a>). <br />
<br />
Again and again in the Law, God gave Israel rules for protecting the poor and the weak, rules to ensure they receive justice and have food and other basic necessities. Again and again they have broken them. Amos will return to the topic of their abuse of the poor several times, but the judgment will not change. <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“Now then, I will crush you<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
The swift will not escape,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> the strong will not muster their strength,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the warrior will not save his life.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
The archer will not stand his ground,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> and the horseman will not save his life.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Even the bravest warriors<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> will flee naked on that day,”<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
declares the LORD. (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos+2.6-16&version=NIV" target="_blank">Amos 2:13-16</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
The God who cares for the poor and weak expects his people to do the same. And he takes it personally when they do not. We do not have the explicit instructions Israel had in the Law of Moses, things like leaving the edges of fields unharvested, but the principles remain. We know what is important to our Father in heaven, and it should be important to us, too. <br />
<br />
Remember the words of the Master: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lk+12.32-34&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 12:32-34</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
<br />
Related posts: <br /><a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2008/06/helping-poor-biblically.html" target="_blank">Helping the Poor Biblically</a><br /><a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-god-who-sees-poor.html" target="_blank">The God Who Sees The Poor</a><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Image via <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/girl-kid-child-portrait-sad-poor-2529907/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pixabay</a></span></span><br />
</div>ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-85514556059372866012023-10-18T06:18:00.000-05:002023-10-18T06:18:02.255-05:00A Warning to Monsters<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OnfrJ4tyLUOyjZbZoGGgymxTH2tO1ZH4Lf4N4MHjU_rH_qdlqoneE2JvkCkRX8KQvXfxnua6Ma5ooEIXPvz3D-1l6zJSn58KrJRvJYblT9AfXEC67QBWBqhNw9kelyk24iAPWlD_VRgjHgszREMrp6yrItFmH-CDYlyw9lxgvQMkGwiE8xTPBeYrth8/s4881/monster3%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="a monster approaching in the darkness" border="0" data-original-height="2657" data-original-width="4881" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OnfrJ4tyLUOyjZbZoGGgymxTH2tO1ZH4Lf4N4MHjU_rH_qdlqoneE2JvkCkRX8KQvXfxnua6Ma5ooEIXPvz3D-1l6zJSn58KrJRvJYblT9AfXEC67QBWBqhNw9kelyk24iAPWlD_VRgjHgszREMrp6yrItFmH-CDYlyw9lxgvQMkGwiE8xTPBeYrth8/w640-h349/monster3%20pixabay.jpg" title="monsters coming" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">If you really want insight into someone’s character, find out what makes them angry. Is it being treated disrespectfully? Do they get mad when they’re inconvenienced? Or do they get angry when other people are mistreated? <br />
<br />
A very basic description of the prophetic books of the Old Testament is that God tells the prophet to denounce this or that people because of their behavior. However, looking closer at who is being denounced and for what tells us a lot about what makes God angry.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
<br />
The book of Amos begins with promises of God’s judgment against six of Israel’s neighbors. He begins the same way in each, “For three sins of X, even for four, I will not relent” (an idiom meaning “more than enough”) then names one particular sin. For example, <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
This is what the LORD says:</span></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“For three sins of Damascus,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> even for four, I will not relent.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Because she threshed Gilead<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> with sledges having iron teeth,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
I will send fire on the house of Hazael<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos+1&version=NIV" target="_blank">Amos 1:3-4</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
Damascus “threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth” (1:3) — that is, driving threshing sledges over prostrate prisoners. Gaza and Tyre “took captive whole communities and sold them” into slavery (1:6, 9). Edom [descendents of Esau] “pursued his brother [Israel] with a sword and slaughtered the women of the land” (1:11). Ammon “ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead” (1:13). Moab desecrated a corpse (2:1). <br />
<br />
They’re killing prisoners or selling them into slavery. They’re ripping open pregnant women as a show of intentional brutality. <br />
<br />
They’re committing war crimes. <br />
<br />
God doesn’t accuse them of breaking their covenant with him because they had none. He doesn’t accuse them of the sins common to all men or to the people of that time because they didn’t know any better. But they knew better than <i>this</i>. This level of inhumanity even they should have recognized as wrong. <br />
<br />
What is angering God? War is harsh. Ancient war was brutal by our standards. But these people took it to the next level even by the rules of war of that era. And so God tells them, because you acted like monsters, the monsters will come for you. Cities will burn. People will be exiled. Rulers will die. God did it in his own time, but justice was done. <br />
<br />
God doesn’t change. The same God who hated inhumane behavior in the Iron Age hates it now. That means those who have suffered war crimes have hope for justice. We should expect justice, both in this life and in the age to come because that is who God is. God is sometimes slow to judge by our liking, but judge he will. <br />
<br />
“Wait a second,” some will say, “this is just God judging nations for what they did to Israel. You can’t apply that to other nations.” <br />
<br />
Many people are uncomfortable with God showing favor to Israel over all other nations. There’s good reason for this favor that we won’t go into now, but God does not restrict his justice and mercy to Israel alone. And the last of these judgments shows us an example of this: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“For three sins of Moab,<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> even for four, I will not relent.<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Because he burned to ashes<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> the bones of Edom’s king” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos+2.1-3&version=NIV" target="_blank">Amos 2:1</a>)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
Moab’s sin was not against Israel but Edom. God does not only punish crimes against his chosen people. Every nation is responsible for how it treats every other nation. God shows no favoritism when he brings the wicked to justice. <br />
<br />
And that’s why even today we should tremble when nations act inhuman, because if you act like monsters, the monsters will come for you. <br />
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Image via <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/eery-fear-stalk-frankenstein-1648250/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pixabay</a></span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-68945009515441037552023-10-11T05:25:00.001-05:002023-10-11T06:21:17.692-05:00The Joy of Knowledge<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tUHVqf1Dgt6Or_BjdAIkj4AU3v71uZHfQNP_2OQnP37ND4gt6VqVhT6CE6vSlJbDvceW-aSWrh5gghD2FWVASdXPZ5AqCYZ8LRkYrP_XGb3STArYWNehzULz5YA_T7ND96s8UqX5U9PZcgVmzf3v5SpJSzCdjNSKZkPnMxjfRu9HXqpXoiQB6vmjYxw/s6719/blindfold%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="woman blindfolded looking at beautiful flowers" border="0" data-original-height="3905" data-original-width="6719" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tUHVqf1Dgt6Or_BjdAIkj4AU3v71uZHfQNP_2OQnP37ND4gt6VqVhT6CE6vSlJbDvceW-aSWrh5gghD2FWVASdXPZ5AqCYZ8LRkYrP_XGb3STArYWNehzULz5YA_T7ND96s8UqX5U9PZcgVmzf3v5SpJSzCdjNSKZkPnMxjfRu9HXqpXoiQB6vmjYxw/w640-h372/blindfold%20pixabay.jpg" title="blind to the beauty" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">Have you ever noticed that experts can enjoy things far more than normal people? <br />
<br />
I’m musically inclined; I can read music, play piano poorly, and enjoy singing. I love good music and good performances. I even enjoy a musical episode of TV shows when they’re done well. The CW show <i>The Flash</i> did such an episode, and it was great. Most of the cast sang beautifully, and the songs were cleverly written. Then I came across a YouTube video of a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lypWiJT6vkM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">vocal coach reacting</a> to it, and I realized I was watching that episode deaf and blind.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
<br />
This professional singing instructor was capable of enjoying their performances on a level I didn’t even know existed. I’m restricted to “they sung purty”; she can detect proper execution of complicated skills and careful nuance. And I was a bit disappointed. I enjoyed watching her reaction, but I can’t enjoy their performances second-hand. I know now they did difficult things well, but I’m still completely incapable of properly appreciating their work because I’m still ignorant. <br />
<br />
You’ve probably seen something similar on cooking shows where judges with well-developed palates discuss subtleties of flavor and texture that the average person will not notice. Or maybe you saw this watching the Olympics, in technical events like gymnastics, figure skating, or diving, where the judges see vast differences where the rest of us see one splash looking pretty much like another. <br />
<br />
We all have the same eyes, ears, and tongues, but knowledge can allow us to appreciate things on a deeper level. <br />
<br />
We can train ourselves to appreciate God on a deeper level. <br />
<br />
The more we learn about God, the more we can appreciate what we see of him in the scriptures and in the world. Becoming more and more familiar with the details of his personality, his character, his likes and dislikes will allow us to see him more clearly and love him more deeply. <br />
<br />
Some may object that this is just head knowledge and relationships are more than that. That’s true. But they’re not less than that. A relationship with my wife is more than knowing the things she enjoys, what makes her laugh, and what makes her cry, but we’re not going to have much of a relationship if I don’t know those things. <br />
<br />
So how do we learn what we need to appreciate God more? There are lots of authors who’ve done the hard work of compiling the “attributes” of God: eg, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/46mGuE3" target="_blank">Knowing God</a></i>, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3rODAZG" target="_blank">Knowledge of the Holy</a></i>, or <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3PUnQwb" target="_blank">God Is</a></i>. These are useful tools, and I encourage you to seek them out. <br />
<br />
But I think there’s great value in going directly to the source. Go to the scriptures, read slowly and carefully, and ask, “What does this tell me about God?” The whole Bible is useful, but the clearest passages are also the least used: the Old Testament, especially the prophets. <br />
<br />
In the coming months, I plan to do just that, both for my benefit and yours. I want to look at some of those passages we tend to skip over and see the picture they paint of God. I’ve done this in the past in <a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/p/seeing-god-in-deuteronomy.html" target="_blank">Deuteronomy</a>, so this time I’ll be looking at the prophets. <br />
<br />
I think this will make those passages we love to read in the gospels and the psalms come alive in a way we’ve never seen before. This will allow us to see God in the work of Jesus more clearly and love him more dearly. Let’s be experts on God so we can enjoy him more than normal people. <br />
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Image via <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-model-portrait-pose-style-6597674/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pixabay</a></span></span><br />
ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-4389709193351074192023-10-04T06:28:00.000-05:002023-10-04T06:28:59.421-05:00Two Rich Men<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DjnZldRdV7iEmVHuYQ3eKXFetLO9fDhtlGi3OXSyujayn0raiVgPwBhq-eQsu0HY2-hXtq4GtM1xFvr3OMd4tmkxSqO2FETEAj6NOYXrfiWz3C-Y33E_23kGs5y0MHtkJqjprVilGjQsWYXgTsApRUjv7P6bZYoC71GRmsmxG_64oWPHiKYRwVUO1OU/s3000/empty%20pockets%20pixabay.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="man pulling pockets out to show they're empty" border="0" data-original-height="1488" data-original-width="3000" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DjnZldRdV7iEmVHuYQ3eKXFetLO9fDhtlGi3OXSyujayn0raiVgPwBhq-eQsu0HY2-hXtq4GtM1xFvr3OMd4tmkxSqO2FETEAj6NOYXrfiWz3C-Y33E_23kGs5y0MHtkJqjprVilGjQsWYXgTsApRUjv7P6bZYoC71GRmsmxG_64oWPHiKYRwVUO1OU/w640-h318/empty%20pockets%20pixabay.jpg" title="empty pockets" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">Does Christianity require a vow of poverty? That is what some allege. Where do they get that idea, and are they correct? <br />
<br />
Some find in what has been called the account of the rich young ruler what they deem to be an “11th commandment.”<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lk+18.18-30&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 18:18-22</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br />
If all you read is this passage, and if you stop there, you can see how one can read it this way: <br />
<br />
“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” <br />
<br />
“Have you followed all of the commandments?” <br />
<br />
“Absolutely!” <br />
<br />
“OK, you just need to follow one more: Sell everything you have and give to the poor, then you can go to heaven.” <br />
<br />
See: The 11th Commandment! It’s obvious. <i>If</i> all you read is this passage, and <i>if</i> you stop there. <br />
<br />
It’s true, he went away sad “because he was very wealthy”. But was it his failure to follow this 11th Commandment that cost him his soul? <br />
<br />
This passage appears in all three synoptic gospels, but I quoted Luke for a reason. If you turn the page, you find the story of <i>another</i> rich man: <br />
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
<br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lk+19.1-10&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 19:1-10</a>) </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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Jesus said, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lk+18.18-30&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 18:25</a>), but here is that camel. And Jesus did not tell him to sell all his possessions. <br />
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There are a lot of things we could say about these two passages, but let’s just focus on two. <br />
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First, the rich young ruler was looking for a way to justify himself. He didn’t really want to learn anything; he expected to be commended for his righteousness. So, secondly, his refusal to sell his possessions wasn’t a failure to follow some unwritten 11th Commandment but the first: You shall have no other gods before me (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20.1-7&version=NIV" target="_blank">Ex 20:3</a>). Jesus was not giving him a new rule but showing he hadn’t followed an old one. <br />
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Zaccheus, on the other hand, wasn’t even planning on talking to Jesus, he was just curious. But when Jesus called him, he responded in faith and repentance. <br />
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It’s totally fair to call out modern Christians for our affluent lifestyles. Almost every one of us could give more than we do. We should all be stretching our faith, pushing our giving beyond our comfort zone again and again. Those who are really commended for their giving in the New Testament are those who give “even beyond their ability” (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Cor8.1-9&version=NIV" target="_blank">2Cor 8:3</a>, cf <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lk+21.1-4&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 21:1-4</a>). Or as CS Lewis put it, <br />
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I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.<sup>1</sup> </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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Give generously. Give extravagantly. But we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be bothered by skeptics who are, frankly, just yanking our chain. Jesus did not command us to live as paupers. He did command us to use material wealth to be rich toward God. <br />
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1 CS Lewis, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3teO4Sm" target="_blank">Mere Christianity</a></i><br />
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-66870011814336729532023-09-27T06:19:00.000-05:002023-09-27T06:19:40.299-05:00The Gift of Daniel<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggnTSdSvxAVOpmqGbhIXZS-lLSuGwLP8mY6UoBUYBe_IKzlHuP_RMVZOKD-1Qf7RdSnXxTtG9DoRx__zSS2DEEueGIgezI_7Z-3vVW7pk2qWn8yY-rxoWW2tXSypuM3LjNw0PrKFcudNWUU5IF4L_DH-Bkw56xG4bFNPCWzzp6zpSoEoYbzjioJbIOAak/s3675/book%20bow%20unsplash.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="book with bow" border="0" data-original-height="2649" data-original-width="3675" height="461" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggnTSdSvxAVOpmqGbhIXZS-lLSuGwLP8mY6UoBUYBe_IKzlHuP_RMVZOKD-1Qf7RdSnXxTtG9DoRx__zSS2DEEueGIgezI_7Z-3vVW7pk2qWn8yY-rxoWW2tXSypuM3LjNw0PrKFcudNWUU5IF4L_DH-Bkw56xG4bFNPCWzzp6zpSoEoYbzjioJbIOAak/w640-h461/book%20bow%20unsplash.jpg" title="gift season" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana;">It’s finally fall, and that means gift giving season is just around the corner. As a follow up to the <a href="https://homewardbound-cb.blogspot.com/p/lessons-from-babylon.html" target="_blank">Lessons from Babylon</a> series, I want to recommend two books that would make good gifts, especially to the young people in our lives who are going to have to make their way in these cultural waters. Or you can gift it to yourself.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br />
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There are lots of good commentaries on the book of Daniel, but in my reading I came across two short books that were more focused on living in this modern world that’s looking more and more like Daniel’s. I consciously tried not to imitate these books, so even if you read my series, you should still benefit from reading one or both. <br />
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The first is <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3PxhGSh" target="_blank">The Daniel Code: Living Out Truth in a Culture That Is Losing Its Way</a></i> by OS Hawkins. Hawkins grew up in the US in the ‘50s and ‘60s, so he has had a front row view of the changes our culture has undergone. He says that our options today are to compromise with this culture, condone it, condemn it, or confront it. (Yes, in full Baptist preacher style, there is a lot of alliteration, but it isn’t overused.) This book is all about how to confront this age. <br />
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My one complaint about the book is that he makes a lot out of his interpretation of the nations represented by the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=dan+2&version=NIV" target="_blank">Daniel 2</a>). In his view, the “toes” are the ten kings of Revelation which, in his view, will be thrown down when Christ returns. He’s hardly alone in that interpretation, but Daniel speaks to our day whether that dream is about events of our future or not. The other works I read did not place much emphasis on the identity of the kingdoms of the dream and still had plenty to say about that chapter. That said, his application really did not hinge on his particular interpretation of the dream. You can benefit from this work without agreeing with his view on either the statue or Revelation. <br />
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On the gift-giving front, it comes in a very nice imitation leather volume with a decorative cover. And like all of Hawkins’ “Code” books, the proceeds from this book go to support the excellent work of <a href="https://www.guidestone.org/mission-dignity/" target="_blank">Mission:Dignity</a>, a ministry supporting poor retired pastors and their widows. <br />
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The second book I want to recommend is <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3EUmcpf" target="_blank">Brave by Faith: God-Sized Confidence in a Post-Christian World</a></i> by Alistair Begg. He says, “This book will not tell you to be like Daniel. Instead, it will call you to believe in Daniel’s God.” God is the “hero” of the book of Daniel, and we need to “rediscover our confidence in the God who reveals himself there.” So he shows us how the first seven chapters of Daniel are all about how big God is. <br />
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I was ready to start writing my series when I stumbled across the book and said, “OK, one more.” And this book ruined my plans. Basically, this book said everything I was wanting to say, so I had to reconsider how to approach the material without copying Begg. I hope I was successful. <br />
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For those who don't read a lot, you may also consider the Audible version which is read by Allistair in his delightful Scottish brogue. <br />
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Of the two, <i>Brave by Faith</i> is my favorite, but both are very good. For gift purposes, it’s worth mentioning that Begg’s book is about half the length of Hawkins’, but <i>The Daniel Code</i> is only 224 pages — hardly a monster. Both are very readable and have a lot of wisdom to impart on how to live in this crazy world we find ourselves in. Either would make a great addition to your library or a fine gift, whether for Christmas or graduation. <br />
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The world’s a changin’. Help the people in your life navigate in these choppy cultural waters with one of these volumes. <br />
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ChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.com0